Russian Envoy: Indonesia’s Oil Purchases Purely Commercial

RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta – Russian Ambassador to Indonesia Sergey Tolchenov said Indonesia’s recent contracts to purchase Russian oil are purely commercial, meaning the Russian government was not involved in the transactions. His comments came after the first shipment of Russian oil to Indonesia arrived to meet domestic demand.

Ambassador Tolchenov said he learned that Indonesia was importing oil from Russia from Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia through local media. At the time, Bahlil said the first batch of oil had arrived in Indonesia.

"Well, first of all, this is completely commercial. It's not my embassy selling oil, it's not the Russian state, not the Russian government, but Russian companies, (Russian) oil and gas companies," he said during a media briefing in Jakarta on Wednesday, August 26, 2026.

"So contracts are commercial, and this has confidential information," he continued, referring to the possibility of another import batch, details of which remain confidential.

Tolchenov added that Russia does not disclose all the details of its trade cooperation with Indonesia. He said this is due to the country's concerns about scrutiny from Western countries.

"Not just for curiosity, but they (Western countries) still try to apply what we call secondary sanctions against those Indonesian companies who are brave enough to cooperate with Russian companies," he said.

Nevertheless, he expressed hope that the cooperation would continue as trade between Indonesia and Russia grows. He cited data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) showing that bilateral trade increased by 16% during the first half of 2026.

"(The) most important... (is) that it (the trade) is going on, and I hope it will go on," he said.