PM Anthony Albanese joins call with world leaders about Ukraine ceasefire plan
Anthony Albanese reiterated Australia’s steadfast support for Ukraine for as long as it takes, and said Russia cannot be rewarded as it had “imperialist designs”.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joined a Coalition of the Willing virtual meeting hosted by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and leaders from Europe, Canada and New Zealand.
Mr Albanese reiterated Australia’s strong and steadfast support for Ukraine and restated that Australia will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.
The leaders agreed to continue working on delivering concrete actions to support Ukraine now and into the future — at a time when US President Donald Trump has taken an increasingly pro-Russian position.
“Australia stands with Ukraine and we will continue to do so for as long as it takes,” Mr Albanese said.
“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.”
Mr Albanese said Russia had “imperialist designs, for Ukraine and beyond”.
In a thinly veiled swipe at Mr Trump’s anti-Ukraine rhetoric — which has included accusations that Ukraine does not want peace — Mr Albanese said the nations must ensure that Russia is not rewarded in any upcoming peace deals.
“We must ensure Russia’s illegal and immoral actions are not rewarded through any peace process,” he said.
“Australia supports all meaningful progress towards a just and enduring peace in Ukraine and for broader security in Europe.
“But pressure will need to be applied on Russia to engage in good faith.”
The PM once again left the door open for Australian troops to be on the ground in Ukraine if a ceasefire is struck.
“Australia is open to considering any requests to contribute to a future peacekeeping effort in support of the just and lasting peace we all want for Ukraine he said.
“Of course, peacekeeping missions by definition require a precondition of peace.”
Mr Starmer said they had to be prepared to defend any Ukraine peace deal, urging all world leaders on the call to keep up pressure on Russia.
“If (Russian President Vladimir) Putin is serious about peace, it’s very simple, he has to stop his barbaric attacks on Ukraine and agree to a ceasefire,” he told the video call.
“My feeling is that sooner or later (Putin’s) going to have to come to the table and engage in serious discussion, but – and this is a big but for us this morning in our meeting – we can’t sit back and simply wait for that to happen.
“We have to keep pushing ahead, pushing forward, and preparing for peace, and a peace that will be secure and that will last.
“I think that means strengthening Ukraine so they can defend themselves, and strengthening, obviously, in terms of military capability, in terms of funding, in terms of the provision of further support from all of us to Ukraine.”
Mr Starmer continued, saying: “Secondly, being prepared to defend any deal ourselves through a coalition of the willing. We’ve begun that process and this morning we can take it forward.
“And then, thirdly, and really importantly, given the developments of the last few days, to keep the pressure on Putin to come to the table, and I think collectively we’ve got a number of ways that we can do that.
“So it’s those three heads, really, that we’re going to focus on in this meeting, strengthening Ukraine, being prepared to defend any deal ourselves through a coalition of the willing, and keeping that pressure on Russia at this crucial time.”
Mr Starmer spoke to the group as well as French president Emmanuel Macron, Mr Zelenskyy and NATO secretary general Mark Rutte.
“We can’t allow President Putin to play games with President Trump’s deal,” Starmer said ahead of the call on Saturday night (AEDT).
“The Kremlin’s complete disregard for President Trump’s ceasefire proposal only serves to demonstrate that Putin is not serious about peace.
“If Russia finally comes to the table, then we must be ready to monitor a ceasefire to ensure it is a serious, and enduring peace. If they don’t, then we need to strain every sinew to ramp up economic pressure on Russia to secure an end to this war,” he added.
Mr Starmer and Mr Macron have been leading efforts to assemble a so-called “coalition of the willing” ever since Trump opened direct negotiations with Moscow last month.
They say the group is necessary — along with US support — to provide Ukraine with security guarantees by deterring Putin from violating any ceasefire.
Mr Starmer and Mr Macron have said they are willing to put British and French troops on the ground in Ukraine but it is not clear if other countries are keen on doing the same.
Mr Macron called on Russia late Friday to accept the proposal for a ceasefire, and stop making statements aimed at “delaying the process”.
The French president also demanded that Moscow stop its “acts of violence” in Ukraine.
Germany on Friday likewise criticised Putin’s response to the US-proposed ceasefire in Ukraine as “at best a delaying tactic”.
Turkey has indicated it could play a part in peacekeeping efforts, while Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheal Martin has said Irish troops would not be deployed in any “deterrent force”.
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