Indonesia's Prabowo to hold talks with Putin to cement 'strategic partnership'

By Guy Faulconbridge

ST PETERSBURG, June 17 (Reuters) - Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto will hold talks with President Vladimir Putin in Russia this week to explore ways to deepen what their foreign ministers cast on Tuesday as a burgeoning strategic partnership.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking at a meeting in Moscow with his Indonesian counterpart Sugiono, said Putin will meet Prabowo in St Petersburg on Thursday.

Russia is due to hold its annual economic forum this week in the northern city, at which Putin traditionally gives a keynote speech and hosts a foreign leader.

Russia and Indonesia, Lavrov said, should seek to deepen their defence, security, naval and trade ties.

He said Russia's state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, stood ready to help Indonesia build an atomic power station, and the two countries could hold joint military exercises.

"This is a show actually of how important and strategically Indonesia thinks of its relationship with Russia," Sugiono told reporters in English.

Sugiono suggested that Putin and Prabowo had "chemistry" and suggested they develop and deepen their ties "into a strategic partnership."

Trade between Russia and Indonesia totals nearly $4.5 billion a year, Lavrov said, adding that bilateral trade and investment should be boosted. Indonesia became a full member of the BRICS grouping earlier this year.

Indonesia last year dismissed a report in defence publication Janes that Russia had asked to base military aircraft in Papua, its easternmost province, after the issue caused concern in Australia.

Papua is about 1,200 km (750 miles) north of the Australian city of Darwin.