Australia’s prime minister says his government will consider any proposal to send troops to Ukraine as part of a multinational peacekeeping force, as Europe considers a “coalition of the willing” to enforce any peace deal.
White House officials confirmed a dramatic halt of all US military aid to Ukraine, days after the US president, Donald Trump, clashed with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in the Oval Office.
An official told the Washington Post the US was “pausing and reviewing” aid to ensure it was contributing to brokering a peace to the long-running war. Other government agencies stressed it was a temporary pause, not a permanent cessation of assistance.
European nations, led by Britain and France, are attempting to draw up a peace plan they hope will be backed by a US security guarantee. Moscow has consistently said it would oppose any European troops on the ground.
Asked at a Sydney press conference on Tuesday about the US’s halt on military aid, Anthony Albanese reiterated Australia’s support for Ukraine, which has endured more than 10 years of war with an irredentist Russian Federation and more than three since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“We stand with President Zelenskyy and the brave struggle of the people of Ukraine to defend their natural sovereignty,” Albanese said.
Albanese said Ukraine was engaged in a broader fight for the international rule of law and that “Australia stands ready to assist”. Australia has already contributed $1.5bn, with $1.3bn of that given in direct military assistance, he said.
He said he was “open to consideration” of a proposal to put Australian boots on the ground.
“There’s discussion at the moment about potential peacekeeping, and from my government’s perspective, we’re open to consideration of any proposals going forward, as Australia has historically played an important role in … a range of peacekeeping areas.
“We want to see peace in Ukraine, but we want to make sure the illegal, immoral actions of Russia are not rewarded, and that Vladimir Putin and his designs, which are imperialistic, are not rewarded or encouraged.”
Albanese stressed that there was no concrete proposal on the table, nor had Australia been asked to contribute troops.
“We haven’t been asked for anything,” he said. “There are proposals being discussed.”
“If a request is made, we would give consideration to it. With regard to the US, the US is an important ally of Australia. It’s an alliance between our nations.
“With regard to Australia’s foreign policy, Australia determines our foreign policy. It’s in Australia’s national interest to stand with Ukraine and that’s what our government is doing.”
The prime minister’s comments on Tuesday were the most assertive from Australia so far on the potential commitment of troops.
after newsletter promotion
On Monday, a government spokesperson said the “deployment of Australian troops to support peacekeeping forces in Ukraine is not under consideration at this time”. Pat Conroy, the defence industry minister, added: “we’re not envisaging that sort of commitment”.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, who was also asked on Monday if Australia would consider sending troops to Ukraine, replied: “The short answer is no.”
The UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, this week proposed a “coalition of the willing” in the event a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire could be negotiated, outlining a plan for 30,000 peacekeeping troops from across Europe to be stationed in Ukraine as a deterrent to future Russian attacks or re-armament.
“The UK is prepared to back this with boots on the ground and planes in the air, together with others. Europe must do the heavy lifting,’’ he said.
Questioned about “reaching out beyond Europe”, Starmer said he wanted as many like-minded countries as possible involved.
“We are doing that,” he told the House. “This needs to be as broad a coalition as we can put together, with different capabilities.”
Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, meanwhile affirmed Australia’s alliance with the US, telling a panel discussion hosted by the Australian National University in Washington DC that the relationship extended beyond individual presidents and prime ministers.
“Those fundamentals tend not to change,” he said.
Article by:Source: Ben Doherty
