













Minister’s Office:02 6277 7500 or 0466 745 615       Department:02 6261 1555



MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS

The Hon. Kevin Rudd MP

TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW WITH ALJAZEERA ENGLISH

DUBAI

30 NOVEMBER 2010





Subjects:  Afghanistan,  Wikileaks, Middle East Peace Process,  Iran



E & O E - PROOF ONLY

JOURNALIST: Foreign Minister, about Afghanistan, how committed is  Australia to the mission there?

KEVIN RUDD: Well we are for the long term because Afghanistan is our  friend, that's why we're attending a conference here in United Arab Emirates  to look at long term investment opportunities for Afghanistan as well.

It's not just a security challenge, it's an economic challenge so that real  benefits are delivered to the Afghan people.

JOURNALIST: The Australian political landscape is a bit different now  with minor parties having different opinions on the troops being there. Can  you be as committed today as what you were say six months ago?

KEVIN RUDD: Absolutely. We've recently had a debate in the Australian  parliament on this. What was remarkable about the debate was the high  degree of consensus about the need to deal with Afghanistan for the long  term.

Australians are very practical people. We understand the challenges have  been great, but we also understand that we need to help the Afghans obtain



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the capacity to look after their own security and also help them to develop  their own economy. We're doing both, particularly in the province of Uruzgan,  but we've got also responsibilities across the country as a whole.

JOURNALIST: You're on a  diplomacy mission through this region at the  moment, how damaging have been these Wikileaks cables from the US to  diplomacy in general and what you're trying to do this week?

KEVIN RUDD: Well I think for every nation-state in the world this  unauthorised release of diplomatic communications around the world has  been a major problem. Let's be very frank about it. We the Australian  Government condemn it because it helps nobody.

Nation-states are trying to deal with complex challenges at the moment. The  reason we have diplomacy is it remains private, this has fundamentally  undermined that and I believe those responsible for it should be held  accountable to the full processes of the laws which prevail, be it in Australia  or elsewhere in the world.

JOURNALIST: One of those responsible is an Australian citizen. How  serious is the Australian Government about assisting the US in efforts to  prosecute him?

KEVIN RUDD: We are deadly serious about this. As I said this is a  challenge not just for the United States but the US allies, friends and other  countries around the world, other partners with whom we work  diplomatically, including in the Arab world and the Muslim world on complex  and sensitive questions.

So the Australian Government will do all within its power within the remit of  Australian laws to deal with those responsible. The Australian Attorney  General's already made a comprehensive statement to that effect.



JOURNALIST: How difficult will it be though for you this week taking in  conversations with important people in this part of the world who've just seen  important conversations they've had with US equivalents of yourself, how  difficult is that going to be do you think to get an open and frank and honest  exchange of ideas?

KEVIN RUDD: I believe that around this region and more broadly in the  world we're dealing with diplomatic professionals. We all recognise that  problems occur, and this is one of them, but it shouldn't impede, and I don't  believe it will impede the standard of engagement which we have, which in  our region for example have the continued challenge of Iran, the continued  challenge of bringing about a just and sustainable peace settlement in the  Middle East which has a independent Israeli and an independent Palestinian  state. This is the core business of our region's diplomacy, it will continue.

This is a problem, we recognise that, but we don't intend to allow it to get in  the road.



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JOURNALIST: What do you think is the number one focus for you at this  Bahrain forum that you're attending?

KEVIN RUDD: In Bahrain the forum has been going for some seven years  and it deals with the range of regional security challenges. Obviously in this  part of the world we are dealing with the concerns which are represented by  Iran's nuclear program, we are dealing with the concerns of piracy in the  waters off the Arabian peninsula. We are dealing with obviously challenges of  terrorism in parts of the Horn of Africa and the associated region and also  with the wider challenges to security as well, including the core question of a  just and sustainable peace settlement for the Middle East which caters for the  interests of the Israeli people and caters for the interests of the Palestinian  people. We in Australia for example have been strongly supporting the  Palestinian authority with some $140 million of direct assistance to the  Authority over the last two or three years. I'll be visiting Ramallah myself  again very soon in order to provide further assistance to the needs of the  Authority across supporting the Palestinian people, their education needs,  their health needs etcetera.

JOURNALIST: And where do you see things heading with Iran? I mean  according to these Wikileaks cables there's quite a degree of - quite a push  from a lot of Arab countries for military intervention. What's the Australian  position?

KEVIN RUDD: We don't comment on the content of any purported  release, unauthorised release of any diplomatic communication.

Separately however our policy on Iran is simply that Iran needs to adhere to  international law. There are binding resolutions of the United Nations  Security Council which reflect the considered opinion of the international  community.

Iran has obligations under the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran  stands in contravention of its international obligations.

We respect the Iranian people, we respect the antiquity of their civilisation.  Anyone who has studied ancient Persia, who understands the wonderful  literature and artistic achievements of that enormous civilisation and its rich,  modern intellectual tradition has a deep respect for the Persian people, the  Iranian people. But its Government right now is acting in defiance of  international law.

JOURNALIST: Thank you very much for your time.

ENDS

