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Asked on Wednesday about the risks for Australia's relations with Indonesia, Morrison said Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Commerce Minister Simon Birmingham had been in contact with their counterparts.
"And the Indonesian Minister of Trade himself has made it clear publicly that this is not an issue that worries him," said the prime minister.
Mr. Morrison emphasized the government's commitment to Indonesian relations and said his strength allowed "different points of view on things from time to time".
"And Australia is a sovereign country, we are allowed to engage in discussions, we are authorized to do so, we are allowed to raise issues that we think are worthy of discussion and are important. for Australian citizens, and that's all we have done, "he said.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Minister of Foreign Affairs Marise Payne. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Mr Morrison opened the door to the transfer of the Australian Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and announced a review of the government's support for the Iranian nuclear deal, which aims to prevent the countries to acquire nuclear weapons, but was strongly criticized by the United States and Israel.
The statements come as Australia seeks to sign a historic free trade agreement with Indonesia by the end of the year. Mr. Morrison and Senator Birmingham stated that these plans were not compromised.
"Indonesia has made it clear publicly that our agreement with them was about to be finalized this year.That's what we're working on, that's what they're working on," he said. said Senator Birmingham.
Arab diplomats, foreign affairs experts and former officials said the provocative government announcement went against Australia's interests and the peace process, and questioned the timing of the announcement of this election at the tip of the knife that will be held Saturday in Wentworth electorate with a large Jewish community.
A meeting of senior Arab representatives from 15 countries in Canberra on Tuesday discussed possible responses to trade.
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"We talked about the impact and consequences of this stance on relations between Australia and the Arab countries," said Palestinian diplomat Izzat Abdulhadi. "We talked about the extent of trade between Arab countries and Australia, and we do not want this great relationship to be undermined or affected by this baseless position."
Mr. Trump upset decades of convention by moving the US Embassy. While Israel controls West Jerusalem since 1948 and regards Jerusalem as its "eternal" and "indivisible" capital, other countries retain embassies in Tel Aviv because Israel's annexation of Jerusalem- Is in 1967 is considered illegitimate. Palestinians also claim Jerusalem as the capital of a future state.
Mr Morrison said that Australia was strongly in favor of a two-state solution, but that the government wanted to challenge orthodox thinking and the "taboo" issue of the Israeli capital. Wentworth Liberal candidate Dave Sharma, a former ambassador to Israel, has been a vocal advocate for Australia 's reconsideration of the position that has been in place for decades. Mr. Morrison said he found Mr. Sharma's arguments convincing and that they could offer a way forward for a process that "does not go as well".
Mr. Sharma, a former ambassador to Israel, said that accepting West Jerusalem as an integral part of Israel in no way threatened to resolve the dispute as part of a two-state solution, because it was a geographical reality. He asserted that this did not prevent East Jerusalem from being the capital of a future Palestinian state.
Fergus Hunter is a political reporter for Fairfax Media, based at Parliament House.
Matthew Knott is a Fairfax Media reporter based in the United States. Previously, he worked in the Press Gallery in Canberra and recently completed a Masters Degree in Journalism at Columbia University in New York.
