President to press ahead with Russia visit: Hassan<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
President Megawati Soekarnoputri will go ahead with her planned
\nvisit to Russia despite the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
\n(SARS) epidemic and Iraq war, a cabinet minister says.<\/p>\n
Minister for Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said on Thursday
\nthat Megawati would leave on April 17 for a 10-day trip to
\nRumania, Russia and Poland to discuss the latest developments in
\nIraq and several bilateral issues.<\/p>\n
"The Iraq issue will be one of the items on the agenda to be
\ndiscussed during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir
\nPutin," Hassan said after a Cabinet meeting.<\/p>\n
"It is interesting because our stance on Iraq is in line with
\nRussia's stance."<\/p>\n
The first leg of her trip would be to Rumania, where she would
\nstay for two days. On April 20, Megawati and her entourage would
\nfly to Russia for a four-day state visit.<\/p>\n
In Russia, the President will also visit St. Petersburg,
\nbefore continuing to Poland for a two-day visit on April 24.<\/p>\n
One of the main objectives of the visit is to explore
\npossibilities for military cooperation or sales as Indonesia
\nstill remains under a United States' military embargo.<\/p>\n
In her previous visit to several Eastern European countries,
\nMegawati also explored arms sales.<\/p>\n
The President's visit will be the first by an Indonesian
\nleader to Russia in 23 years.<\/p>\n
Sources at the ministry of foreign affairs said that weapons'
\npurchases would be one of the seven or eight memorandum of
\nunderstandings signed with Russia.<\/p>\n
When asked whether buying weapons would be a topic of
\ndiscussion, Hassan said: "I heard about that, but it is not yet
\nconfirmed."<\/p>\n
During the 10-day journey, Megawati is also slated to hold
\nmeetings with Indonesian communities in those Eastern Europe
\ncountries.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/president-to-press-ahead-with-russia-visit-hassan-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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