Scott Morrison to decide on Israeli embassy by Christmas
Scott Morrison attempted to quell Indonesian fears that Australia had shifted support away from a two-state solution in a meeting with President Joko Widodo in Singapore which started with a frosty welcome.
Scott Morrison plans to decide on whether to move Australia’s embassy in Israel to Jerusalem by Christmas and will “sound out” other world leaders on the issue.
It comes as the Prime Minister attempted to quell Indonesian fears that Australia had shifted support away from a two-state solution in a meeting with President Joko Widodo in Singapore on Wednesday.
Mr Morrison’s announcement that he was considering the move during the Wentworth by-election campaign drew the ire of Indonesia and has put Australia’s free trade agreement with our neighbour at risk.
But Mr Morrison said that President Widodo did not link the two issues — the trade deal and embassy move — in a 40-minute meeting on the sidelines of the East Asian Summit.
After a frosty welcome, the meeting appeared to end on a warmer note with the pair walking to breakfast together and exchanging a pat on the back. However, there was still no firm time line on when the trade deal would be signed.
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“We discussed both of those issues. These were not raised in connection,” Mr Morrison said.
“I was able to talk through the government’s process and how we’re seeking to resolve that and to come to a position. I’m attempting to do that over the next little while.
“I was able to step him through a couple of the key principles that have always been important to us in addressing this issue and the first of those is that Australia and I and my government is motivated by wanting to see progress towards a two state solution.
“I think I was able to give some greater clarity.”
When asked why Indonesia had been publicly linking the two issues, Mr Morrison could only say its leaders did not do so behind closed doors.
Mr Morrison said “it’s our intention” to have the embassy move issues resolved before Christmas.
He said there was an internal government investigation being conducted into the matter but would not reveal who was leading it. There would be no public consultation.
“It’s being done internally within the government. It will go through the process of the national security committee and that will be done by a Cabinet process,” Mr Morrison said.
Asked if he planned to discuss the issue with other world leaders, he said: “I’ll take the opportunity where it think there are parties who have a particular interest in this topic I’ll be sounding them out.”
Mr Morrison was scheduled to meet Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday night where he was likely to be asked whether Australia would back China or the US in a cold war in the region.
US Vice President Mike Pence said Beijing needed to agree to economic and military demands at a meeting in Argentina later in the year between Mr Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping to avoid a cold war scenario.
“The president’s attitude is, we want to make sure they know where we stand, what we are prepared to do, so they can come to Argentina with concrete proposals that address not just the trade deficit that we face … We’re convinced China knows where we stand,” Mr Pence told The Washington Post.
Mr Morrison was also set to be asked to explain his comments backing in Mr Trump on trade given the US has threatened to ratchet up tariffs on Chinese imports.
Mr Morrison said “despite the atmospherics” that the US was engaging in protectionism the outcome of the renegotiated North American deal showed Mr Trump was committed to free trade.
But the prime minister conceded the US approach has been “unorthodox and unconventional”.
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