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Moscow, Jakarta to work for multi-polar world

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW APRIL 21. Russia and Indonesia have agreed to step up defence cooperation and pledged to work for a multi-polar world and against foreign interference in nations' domestic affairs as the two countries try to adjust to post-Iraq-war realities.

During the first visit to Russia by an Indonesian President in 14 years, the two countries signed an agreement on military-technical cooperation, which "opens the way to new cooperation projects, including in the aviation sphere,'' a Kremlin spokesman said.

Under another agreement, Russia and Indonesia will build cooperation in space technologies.

Defence industry sources said Indonesia will buy two Sukhoi-27 and two Sukhoi-30 fighter jets and may also acquire long-range S-300 missiles and shorter-range air-defence systems.

Indonesia wants to buy Russian weapons to lessen its overwhelming dependence on U.S.-built weapons, which jeopardised the country's security when Washington banned defence supplies to Jakarta over East Timor in 1991.

The Presidents of Russia and Indonesia, Vladimir Putin and Megawati Sukarnoputri, also signed a joint declaration on friendship and partnership in the 21st century, pledging to "work for the establishment of a just and stable world order based on joint responsibility and recognition of the supreme role of the principles of multilateralism.''

Analysts said the joint declaration indicated a shared desire to balance the U.S.'s growing dominance in global affairs in the wake of the war in Iraq.

The two counties came out "against any forms of interference in the domestic affairs of states'' and against "attempts to undermine their territorial integrity and internationalise their internal problems under various pretexts.'' Moscow and Jakarta also declared their support for a peaceful settlement of armed conflicts and vowed to "strengthen partnership and cooperation in the United Nations in order to enhance its effectiveness in the new global realities.''

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