RI TO PREVENT WASHINGTON SUMMIT FROM LIMITING COUNTRIES' SOVEREIGNTY

Washington DC, April 13 (ANTARA) - Indonesia is to see to it that the Nuclear Security summit in Washington on April 12-13 will not limit the sovereign right of participating countries to use nuclear power for peaceful purpose, Vice President Boediono said.
"The final agreement is still being drafted. Indonesia will keep its position based on our basic principles," he said to newsmen here on Monday (local time).

Boediono led the Indonesian delegation to the meeting attended by delegations from 47 other countries and the United Nations, the European Union and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The basic principles he referred to are principles contained in the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which is an international agreement based on three pillars namely disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and countries' rights to use nuclear for peaceful purposes.

Respect to the principles also applies with regard to latest developments in which some permanent members of the UN Security Council are seeking to give sanctions on Iran on suspicion that country was seeking to develop nuclear for weapons.

The summit was done in the midst of efforts by the US, Britain and France to stop Iran and therefore it was feared it would also be used to muster support from participating countries for a harsher sanction on Iran.

Indonesia when it was a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2007-2008 became the only country in the 15-member Council abstaining on a resolution for increasing sanctions on Iran.

Boediono said Indonesia's stance would remain and would not shift from the principles.

"We will stick to the basic principles," he said when asked on the country's anticipation towards possible lobbying to support harsher sanctions on Iran.

The summit itself is aimed at discussing efforts to prevent nuclear weapons from reaching terrorists.

It is also aimed at preventing proliferation of nuclear weapons as well as nuclear technology.

Iran that has received sanctions through several UN Resolutions meanwhile remains swearing that it is not seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

Iran meanwhile plans to hold a similar conference at the end of this month, themed "Nuclear for Peaceful Purposes."
The ministerial-level meeting will be attended by Indonesian foreign minister Marty Natalegawa.

In line with the vice president's statement, Marty said Indonesia would strive to make the focus of discussion on nuclear security at the summit would not disrupt the NPT principles.

"Do not let reasons to prevent nuclear materials from reaching irresponsible persons be used deliberately or not deliberately for preventing the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes," he said.

"We wish to assure that the results of the summit will really be in line with the three basic principles and also synergic with multilateral efforts that have developed so far in the UN framework," he said.