I admit that I’m not an expert in international diplomacy, but this struck me as extremely odd.
U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney insisted [Australian] Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd be sworn to secrecy about the details of their meeting before their talks in Sydney on Friday.
According to senior Labor sources, Mr Cheney would not meet Mr Rudd until the conditions of secrecy had been met. Those conditions were put to the Opposition Leader by the US Embassy before the Cheney visit.
The terms mean neither Mr Rudd nor Mr Cheney have revealed the nature of their exchanges over controversial issues such as Labor’s proposal to withdraw Australian troops from Iraq and the continued imprisonment of terror suspect David Hicks.
While Mr Cheney held a joint media conference with Prime Minister John Howard at the conclusion of their talks yesterday, there was no such media briefing at the end of the meeting with Mr Rudd.
And sure enough, Rudd, a critic of the war in Iraq, has not said a word publicly about his chat with Cheney. “We agreed to abide by the conditions set by the US Embassy,” a senior Labor source said. “They agreed to the same conditions. Neither of us will be giving any briefings.”
Isn’t this odd? A U.S. leader visits a U.S. ally and wants to chat with a leading member of Parliament — but refuses to sit down until the two reach a confidentiality agreement?
If any readers in Australia have any insights into this, I’m all ears.