Ambassador Najib Meets President Yudhoyono

Jakarta, Nov 20 (Antara) - Indonesia`s Ambassador to Australia Najib Riphat, who was recalled recently in the wake of wiretapping revelations, met President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at his office on Wednesday to report on what had really happened in Australia. The Indonesian government had recalled Najib from Canberra in a bid to express its disappointment with the alleged wiretapping conducted by Australian intelligence agencies in Indonesia. Najib was accompanied by Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa when he arrived at the President`s office at 10:45 a.m. and was received by President Yudhoyono 15 minutes later. Also present at the meeting between President Yudhoyono and Najib were Coordinating Minister for Political, Law and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto, the President`s Spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha, the President`s Special Staffer for International Relations Teuku Faizasyah, Minister/State Secretary Sudi Silalahi, Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam and State Intelligence Agency (BIN) Chief Marciano Norman. Natalegawa revealed that he had held a meeting with Najib earlier in the morning and prior to the meeting with the President. "The Indonesian ambassador to Australia has been recalled to Jakarta from Canberra, and we held a consultation this morning before he reported to the president," Natalegawa said. Earlier on Tuesday, Natalegawa had said that Indonesia had decided to recall its ambassador as he would be unable to perform his tasks properly amidst the ongoing spying issues. According to him, the government had summoned Najib as part of Indonesia`s response to the wiretapping allegations and to evaluate the two countries` relations if the issue was not settled immediately. "Frankly speaking, that it is something that cannot be belittled or underestimated, and therefore we have recalled our ambassador to Australia in Canberra for consultation and evaluation," Natalegawa said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Najib stated before meeting with the president that the Indonesian public should remain calm over the incident. "The people of Indonesia should stay calm because we will report everything concerning the issue to the President," Najib said.