Penny Wong reopens Australian embassy in Ukraine
Shadow Foreign Minister Simon Birmingham has hit out at the government’s timing in reopening the Australian embassy in Kyiv, saying it “made Australia an outlier”.
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Shadow Foreign Minister Simon Birmingham has commented on the decision to re-open Australia’s embassy in Ukraine, saying it ends an era of “embarrassment”.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has reopened the embassy in Kyiv this week, nearly three years after it was shut down amid the outbreak of war with Russia.
The opposition member said it was a “long overdue commitment” and that it “made Australia an outlier”, given more than 70 other countries — including Canada, with whom Australia shares an embassy building — had already reopened theirs.
Mr Birmingham said it meant Australia had missed out on crucial intelligence that could have better informed our understanding of the Russia-Ukraine war.
“The reopening of Australia’s embassy brings to an end an embarrassing episode that showed intransigence or ineptitude by the Albanese Government and was an insult to the courageous Ukrainian people,” he said.
“Penny Wong’s inability to articulate why the embassy can reopen now, after arguing for more than two years that it couldn’t, only reinforces that this decision could and should have been made a long time ago.”
It comes as Senator Wong also responded to claims she was involved in a “sharp verbal clash” with Israel’s foreign minister and said Australia and the UK have “been calling for a ceasefire and a release of hostages and for the provision of aid into Gaza”.
On Wednesday local time Ms Wong met with officials including Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, and Energy Minister German Halushchenko and reopened the embassy in the country’s capital Kyiv.
Australia closed the embassy in February 2022 after the war broke out and Ms Wong’s visit to Kyiv is the first by an Australian foreign minister since then.
She also offered additional financial support to the war-torn nation.
Ms Wong said the announcements “come at a pivotal moment, a critical moment in this war, in Russia’s illegal and immoral war against Ukraine and its people”.
“The Albanese Government has always said we would reopen our Embassy in Kyiv when it is safe to do so,” she said.
“I was pleased to announce we are reopening the embassy.
“From next month, Australia’s ambassador as well as our deputy head of mission will return to Kyiv”.
She also reiterated her concerns over North Korea offering support to Russia in the battle.
“We now see North Korean fighters fighting for Russia, a sign of Russia’s escalation and Russia’s desperation and we are deeply concerned,” Ms Wong said.
“We are deeply concerned about what North Korea is getting for this assistance, whether or not Russia will be assisting North Korea in its illegal nuclear industry which would be a breach of the UN charter”.
Ms Wong also met with Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko and reiterated the importance of the Australian government to support Ukraine in the war against Russia.
“What happens to Ukraine matters to Australians,” she said.
“Ukraine’s fight against Russia has consequences for our national security and the security of the Indo-Pacific.
“Today and every day, Australia stands with Ukraine against Russia’s aggression”.
Australia will also provide $66 million in funding to the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development and help to recover and reconstruct impacted parts of the country.
A further $10 million will also be provided to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund to help Ukrainian residents with heating and electricity costs.
Ms Wong also met with members of the community organisation ‘Save Ukraine’ to support families and children impacted in the war and said the government will provide $80,000 in support.
WONG MEETS EU, NATO OFFICIALS
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has met with the European Union’s top diplomat to discuss peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions and notably the war in Ukraine to ensure “no country dominates and no country is dominated”.
Ms Wong held discussions with the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the European Commission’s vice president Kaja Kallas in Strasbourg on Tuesday and the pair said they must band together to ensure international laws and rules are enforced.
“In an era of very challenging strategic circumstances we see great importance among this relationship with the European Union,” Ms Wong said.
“We want to work for a world where no country dominates and no country is dominated, and we recognise that freedom – that requires us to do or pay our part – for us to play our part, wherever we are in the world”.
Ms Kallas said that all the “tensions in the world are very much interconnected”.
“Whatever happens in Europe if we are not strong enough only dictators or would-be aggressors in the world are carefully taking notes that this pays off,” she said.
“We have the international laws and rules in place and we should also make sure that these are followed”.
The Albanese Government is strengthening relationships with partners like the European Union to help build Australia’s future.
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) December 17, 2024
Fantastic to meet with @kajakallas in Strasbourg today.
We are working together to uphold the rules and norms that protect us all. pic.twitter.com/1jlhk2vVS9
Ms Wong said the pair talked about how they could join forces and she reiterated Australia's commitment to continue to provide assistance to Ukraine.
“Russia has torn up the UN charter and the charter protects us all,” she said.
At the NATO meeting on Tuesday Ms Wong also met with secretary-general Mark Rutte in Brussels.
The meetings come the day after Senator Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles met UK officials in London as part of the second AUKMIN meeting this year and included in their discussions was Australia and the UK’s involvement in Ukraine.
On Tuesday British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer committed £35 million ($A70m) of emergency support for Ukraine to help repair its energy grid and help the vulnerable through winter.
Defence Minister Richard Marles also continued his trip through the UK and visited the largest naval base in Western Europe, HMNB Devonport, alongside Australia’s High Commissioner to the UK Stephen Smith and UK’s minister for armed forces Luke Pollard.
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