Gusmao to run for president

Gusmao to run for president

SYDNEY, Australia (DPA): Xanana Gusmao will be East Timor's first president, Interim Timorese Foreign Minister Jose Ramos- Horta said on Sunday.

Speaking on a visit to Canberra, Ramos-Horta said that even though Gusmao was not a candidate in the August 30 constituent assembly elections, he was likely to bow to public pressure and put himself forward.

Ramos-Horta said he too, despite not being an official candidate, would accept a position in the new cabinet to be formed in September.

The Nobel laureate expressed disappointment with U.S. company Phillips Petroleum's decision to shelve a A$1.5-billion (US$780- million) pipeline to bring natural gas from the Timor Sea to Darwin, the Northern Territory capital.