In an interview given to the media, he said that Jakarta has no plans to cancel the agreement, the Indonesian diplomat said that actually, we did not cancel the agreement with Russia. He said that in this regard we will see the right time to get these planes, Ambassador Jose Tavares said that we believe that Russia is one of the best sources in terms of supplying the latest military and defense equipment.
“So I don’t think the contract will end but we have to find the right time to do it,” he said.
He declined to elaborate on specific difficulties in the deal, expressing confidence that Indonesia would continue to buy defense equipment from Russia, including fighter jets, in the future.
Recall that the news of Jakarta signing a $1.1 billion contract for the supply of 11 Russian Su-35 fighter jets surfaced in early 2018.
In July 2019, Indonesia’s former ambassador to Russia, Mohammad Wahid Supriyadi, said delays in the implementation of the agreement were due to the complexity of the trading scheme, which involved government agencies and companies.
In March 2020, Bloomberg reported that Indonesian officials decided to abandon the Su-35 deal with Russia due to budget shortfalls due to the Covid-19 pandemic and threats from the United States. Sanctions will be imposed on Indonesia if the agreement is implemented.
