Anthony Albanese says Australia may send a “small contribution” of peacekeepers to Ukraine if asked, but it was premature to discuss the details before Russia agrees to a ceasefire agreement.
The prime minister joined a phone hook-up overnight that was chaired by the UK’s Keir Starmer and included the leaders of Canada, New Zealand and Europe, a collection referred to as the “Coalition of the Willing”. It also included the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Albanese said on Sunday that Australia would continue to stand up to “bullies” like Vladimir Putin. He called on the international community to keep building pressure on Russia to end its war in Ukraine.
But Nationals leader David Littleproud, who would be deputy prime minister if the Coalition wins the next election, opposed Australians heading to Ukraine and said any peacekeeping operation must be “something that Europe can handle” on its own.
In a statement after the meeting, Starmer said the “ball was in Russia’s court, and president Putin must prove he is serious about peace and sign up to a ceasefire on equal terms”.
“We agreed that in the case that President Putin refused to agree to an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, we would need to increase our efforts to strengthen Ukraine, weaken Russia’s war machine, and ratchet up pressure on President Putin to convince him to come to the negotiating table,” Starmer said.
“To deliver this, we will accelerate our military support, tighten our sanctions on Russia’s revenues, and continue to explore all lawful routes to ensure that Russia pays for the damage it has done to Ukraine.”
Albanese said Australia would “stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes” and that his government was open to considering new proposals, but any new support would be “based on our capacity and comparative strengths”.
“It is the right thing to do and it is in Australia’s national interest. Because what happens in the Euro-Atlantic has serious implications for our region – the Indo-Pacific – and vice versa,” Albanese said in a statement.
In a press conference in Melbourne on Sunday, Albanese said any further discussions about Australian troops would come following peace negotiations.
“Russia must agree to a ceasefire, firstly, but it must also agree to stop its aggression against Ukraine, and so it is premature to talk about that detail, but Australia has a proud record over 80 years of participating in peacekeeping missions,” he said.
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“It would be a small contribution, if we chose to do so. But what we want to see is peace so that you can have peacekeeping.”
“Vladimir Putin’s a bully. You know what Australians do? They stand up to bullies. They don’t get intimidated by an authoritarian leader engaging in that sort of rhetoric.”
On Channel Nine, Littleproud backed Australia sending financial and military aid to Ukraine but rejected the suggestion it should become involved in a peacekeeping mission.
“I welcome the fact the prime minister wants to engage and we welcome the fact that there’s a coalition of the willing, but we think this is something that Europe can handle. If we move and get peace in the Middle East, there needs to be boots on the ground, to hold that peace together. That’s something Europe can handle,” he said.
“But when you’ve got Chinese boats circling Australia that we didn’t even know about – we need Virgin pilots to tell us about – I think we need to strategically focus on ourselves, and we don’t need to send troops to Ukraine.
“We need Europe to look after it, and we need to look after ourselves and the geopolitical threats that we face here in this country. We’re a generous country. We’ve done a lot for Ukraine and we’ll continue to in terms of hardware, but we don’t need to send boots on the ground.”
On Sky News, the deputy opposition leader, Sussan Ley, made similar points, opposing Russia’s invasion but adding, “When it comes to boots on the ground, this is a matter better handled by Europe.”
The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, also expressed concern about sending peacekeepers, but told the ABC’s Insiders he wanted to see the details of any proposal. Instead, he suggested Australia place sanctions on Russian oil.
“If you ask me now, should it happen right now? On the basis of what we understand right now, no. But let’s have a look at whether there is a practical proposal that’s actually going to be put,” Bandt said.