Albanese, Dutton split on peacekeepers as Putin responds to ceasefire call

Australia will be asked to send peacekeepers to Ukraine in a plan being put to national leaders at a European summit this weekend, despite signs of dissent as Russian president Vladimir Putin places new conditions on a ceasefire.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will join the talks on Saturday night (AEDT), and is willing to consider a small deployment as a show of support with other democracies to defend international law.

Anthony Albanese will talk to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (left) about joining a “coalition of the willing” to help with a ceasefire in Ukraine as US President Donald Trump (right) negotiates with Russia’s Vladimir Putin. Credit: Sydney Morning Herald

But the idea is turning into a heated political row after Opposition Leader Peter Dutton stepped up his warnings against sending personnel to keep the peace, while saying he backed Ukraine in its attempts to turn back the Russian invasion.

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer invited Albanese to join the summit in a phone hook-up with other members of a potential “coalition of the willing” to commit peacekeepers if Ukraine and Russia can reach an agreement to stop the war.

Britain and France have committed to sending troops, and Spain has indicated some support for the mission, while more than 20 leaders from European and Commonwealth nations are expected to join the online meeting. This includes Albanese and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon as well as Canadian prime minister-elect Mark Carney.

In a setback to the plan, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni will not join the meeting and is said to be “not convinced” by the plan to deploy the troops on Ukrainian soil. One issue for Italy is whether the deployment is backed by a United Nations mandate.

Albanese made no commitment to send troops when asked about the meeting on Friday, but condemned Russia for its invasion and criticised Dutton for ruling out the additional help for Ukraine.

“In order to have a peacekeeping mission you need to have a peace, so we look forward to there being peace in Ukraine,” he said.

“But we don’t have to think very hard about which side we’re on in this conflict. Russia is the aggressor. Russia invaded a sovereign nation in Ukraine and has committed atrocities against civilians, against civilian infrastructure as well, and it is an illegal and immoral war.”

Dutton said he had supported Ukraine “from day one” in the conflict, such as by sending Bushmaster vehicles when he was defence minister in the previous government, but he said this did not extend to putting Australian troops on the ground.

“The prime minister is wanting to commit thousands of our troops to go and serve in Europe. It just doesn’t make any sense. I think the prime minister is out of his depth when it comes to national security,” he said.

Albanese has not said he wants to send thousands of troops to Ukraine. This masthead asked the prime minister’s office to respond to Dutton’s claim, but it declined to comment.

The Ukrainian ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, said on Friday he expected Australia would be asked to contribute peacekeepers when the meeting was held, given the Australian Defence Force already trains Ukrainian troops in Britain.

“I think that would be a very strong message to the entire world,” he told Sky News.

While Dutton said on Friday that France had not committed troops to the peacekeeping plan, French President Emmanuel Macron is a key advocate for the mission and convened a gathering of European defence chiefs in Paris on Tuesday to work up the proposal. Australia sent its military representative to NATO, Air Vice Marshal Di Turton, to attend the meeting.

The European negotiations are yet to conclude on sending the peacekeepers after US President Donald Trump turned down a request for a security guarantee – or “backstop” – to shield the force in the event of further conflict with Russia.

The Trump administration agreed on Tuesday to resume weapons supplies and intelligence sharing with Ukraine after Kyiv said it was ready to support a ceasefire.

Putin backed the ceasefire in public remarks late on Thursday, Moscow time, but issued a long list of conditions that suggested a final agreement would be difficult.

“We agree with the proposals to cease hostilities. The idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it,” Putin told reporters at the Kremlin.

“But we proceed from the fact that this cessation should be such that it would lead to long-term peace and would eliminate the original causes of this crisis.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Putin was preparing to reject the ceasefire proposal but was afraid to tell Trump.

“That’s why in Moscow they are imposing upon the idea of a ceasefire these conditions, so that nothing happens at all, or so that it cannot happen for as long as possible,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address.