Indonesia not disappointed by Abbott absence

Indonesian foreign affairs spokesman Teuku Faizasyah says there's no disappointment Tony Abbott won't attend a Bali meeting next week.

Tony Abbott with  Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono  - AAP.jpg

Tony Abbott with Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. (AAP)

Jakarta is not disappointed Prime Minister Tony Abbott won't attend a Bali meeting that could have warmed relations with Indonesia, but it's unknown when another opportunity will come up.

Mr Abbott accepted Indonesia's invitation to attend the Open Government Partnership forum next week, which would have been an opportunity to mend fences after last year's spying furore.

But late on Friday his office canned the trip, and it's understood the decision was made because Australian authorities are in the process of turning an asylum seeker boat back to Java, a policy deeply unpopular in Indonesia.

Teuku Faizasyah, Indonesian presidential spokesman for foreign affairs, said he viewed Mr Abbott's decision as "notification he could not attend" rather than a "cancellation".

But he didn't know when a future opportunity to meet would arise.

"I think there's no disappointment from the Indonesian government," he said on Saturday.

"As for another event, I don't know because I think there's no agenda for a regional or global event chaired by Indonesia in the near future."

Indonesia's Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa revealed the invitation to Mr Abbott on April 7.

At that time he told AAP his talks with his Australian counterpart, Julie Bishop, over a code of conduct to normalise the relationship had taken a more positive trajectory.

Military, police and intelligence co-operation was frozen in November after Indonesia learned Australia's spy agency had been intercepting the mobile phone calls of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, his wife and his inner circle.


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Source: AAP


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