rudd on the move

(ABC.com)

Rudd to plead for death-row Aussies

Posted 1 hour 59 minutes ago
Updated 1 hour 52 minutes ago

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has told Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono he will ask him to spare the lives of six Australians on death row if legal action does not stop their executions.

The relationship between the two countries dominated talks between Mr Rudd and Mr Yudhoyono in Bali yesterday.

One strain on the relationship could be the fate of six Australian drug smugglers, members of the so-called 'Bali nine', who have been sentenced to death on the Indonesian island.

During the talks Mr Rudd foreshadowed a bid for clemency if legal avenues fail to save their lives, but in public he was focusing on positive links between the two countries.

"This is, for Australia, one of our most important relationships," he said.

The Australians on death row are all either filing or awaiting outcomes of legal appeals.

Speaking through a translator, the Mr Yudhoyono said with the right neighbourly spirit the two countries could overcome any problems in the future.

"From time to time there will be problems, bilateral problems between us and this is very normal," he said.

Mr Rudd and Mr Yudhoyono also discussed climate change, security and trade.