Fact Check: Did Putin Question Prabowo Over Indonesia's BoP Membership?

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A video clip allegedly showing Russian President Vladimir Putin discussing Indonesia’s membership in the Board of Peace (BoP) has circulated on Instagram [archive], Facebook, Threads, TikTok, and X. The discussion was claimed to have taken place during the 11th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok, Russia, on September 3, 2026.

The content claims that Putin questioned why Indonesia had joined the BoP, which involves Israel, while Prabowo was deemed unable to answer the question.

So, did Putin discuss Indonesia’s BoP membership at the event?

FACT CHECK

Tempo verified the content by comparing it with the original version of the dialogue between Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Prabowo Subianto, and several other national leaders at the 11th EEF. The result showed that Putin never asked about the reason Indonesia had joined the BoP.

Based on the nearly 3.5-hour full recording on the YouTube channel of the Indonesian Presidential Secretariat, the circulating short video is a clip from the first to the 23rd minute of the dialogue session. The session, moderated by RBC TV economic editor Kirill Tokarev, was conducted in Russian and English.

He asked President Prabowo several questions after Prabowo finished his speech. In general, the questions focused on Indonesia’s relations with the Western and Eastern blocs, which have different interests. Prabowo answered the questions in English.

During the nearly 30-minute dialogue, there was no question concerning Indonesia’s membership in the BoP, an international body initiated by U.S. President Donald Trump for the post-conflict reconstruction of Gaza.

The establishment of the BoP and Indonesia’s decision to join it have drawn widespread criticism at home. The BoP has been deemed not to have been designed as a credible peace instrument.

A transcript search using OpenAI’s Whisper transcription tool and Google Translate confirmed that the moderator only asked about Indonesia’s free-and-active economic strategy, which Prabowo answered by reaffirming the principles of non-alignment and openness to investment.

Meanwhile, Putin’s response focused solely on Indonesia’s strategic position as a highly populated country whose role must be taken into account by the world.

Here is the moderator’s full question and Prabowo’s answer:

Moderator: How do you balance your obligations to your Western partners on the one hand, with your efforts to deepen (economic) cooperation with Russia, the Eurasian region, and so on, on the other hand? And what level of integration with Russia do you ultimately envision?

Prabowo: We pursue a policy that is completely open. We have always stated openly that we seek to establish the best possible relations with all countries and all major powers in the world.

Traditionally, we are a non-aligned nation. As I have emphasized, we do not join any military alliances or blocs. We respect all global powers. We are also economically independent, and we want to cooperate with all our friends and every country in the world. This has been our open and firm position from day one.

All partners who enter into agreements with us fully understand this. We offer honest and fair business cooperation. Therefore, we see absolutely no problem with this on our part.

However, I repeat, we act with full transparency. Everyone knows that we will never cooperate with one group of countries against the interests of another group of countries. We will treat anyone who comes to Indonesia with the intention of investing and doing business fairly and equally.

We will ensure equal opportunities for all foreign partners who come to operate in Indonesia. We negotiate as equals and have no intention of harming anyone. That is our basic principle.

And, as I have said, our relationship with Russia has existed for a long time. Our relationship has stood the test of time. We have said openly that when our republic was still young and weak, very few parties in the world cared about us.

It was the Soviet Union that came to help Indonesia when we were in a very vulnerable condition. Everyone knows this history well; we are not ashamed of it at all, and we continue to remember it. Thank you.

Putin: We know there are giant countries such as China, with a population of 1.5 billion, and India, with 1.3 or 1.4 billion people. However, I would like to emphasize that Indonesia is not merely the country with the world’s largest Muslim population. Indonesia is one of the world’s giants in terms of total population, nearly 300 million people. You understand? And whatever policy anyone pursues in any part of the world, everyone must take that fact into account.

Indonesia's Foreign Ministry Clarification

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Yvonne Mewengkang also confirmed that Putin’s statement at the forum discussed Indonesia’s standing as the world’s largest Muslim-majority country and its active role in global issues.

According to her, Putin’s invitation to President Prabowo as an honored guest was a recognition of Indonesia’s strategic position and role.

“We used this momentum to discuss several areas of potential cooperation, ranging from agriculture, energy, minerals, and defense to shipbuilding,” Yvonne said in a WhatsApp message on Tuesday, September 15, 2026.

Meanwhile, Russia’s official position, as reported by Antara on February 27, 2026, cited Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Sergei Tolchenov. He said Russia respected Indonesia’s decision to join the BoP, although Russia chose not to join because there was no Palestinian representation and no provision for a two-state solution.

CONCLUSION

Tempo’s verification concludes that the narrative claiming Russian President Vladimir Putin questioned President Prabowo Subianto’s decision to join the Board of Peace (BoP) is misleading information.

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