By
Speculation has been mounting that Rudd plans to challenge Gillard for the leadership and he said he would return to Australia this week and make a full statement on his future before parliament resumes on Monday. "The simple truth is that I cannot continue to serve as foreign minister if I don't have Prime Minister Gillard's support," he said in a late night press conference in Washington broadcast live in Australia. "I therefore believe the only honorable course of action is for me to resign."