Australians ‘stand up to bullies’, PM says as Starmer challenges Putin

London: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared Australia must stand up to “bullies” like Russian President Vladimir Putin as Britain said planning for a future peacekeeping effort in Ukraine was entering an “operational phase”.

After a two-hour video call with Western allies, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer challenged Putin to end his “dithering and delay” and sign up to a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the United States if he was serious about peace, saying the ball was now in Russia’s court.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks with other world leaders during Saturday’s video conference.Credit: Getty Images

“We agreed we will keep increasing the pressure on Russia, keep the military aid flowing to Ukraine, and keep tightening restrictions on Russia’s economy to weaken Putin’s war machine and bring him to the table,” he told reporters after the meeting.

Without providing precise details, Starmer said there was a “stronger collective resolve and new commitments were put on the table” at the virtual meeting of the so-called “coalition of the willing” – some 30 Western leaders, including from Europe, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Turkey, NATO and the EU. Many more countries were involved this time than at a previous meeting on March 2.

Starmer said a gathering of military generals from 27 countries in London on Thursday would become the next focal point to progress practical plans to support Ukraine’s future security.

“I’ve indicated a willingness for the United Kingdom to play a leading role in this. If it’s necessary, that will be troops on the ground and planes in the sky,” he said.

“There are different capabilities from different countries, but those are the operational discussions that are going on in relation to what this coalition of the willing will be able to provide.”

Britain and France have said they could send peacekeepers to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire deal but one European military leader told London’s The Telegraph that more discussions were needed over whether the coalition was even able to put boots on the ground. Starmer has called for a security “backstop” from a reluctant Washington, whose forces, weaponry and logistics are the backbone of the Western NATO alliance.

“We are talking to the US on a daily basis,” he said.

Albanese reiterated after the talks that Australia was open to contributing to future peacekeeping efforts.

“Vladimir Putin is a bully. You know what Australians do? They stand up to bullies,” he told reporters in Melbourne on Sunday.

“If a large country like Russia is able to brutalise a small neighbour and a sovereign neighbour in Ukraine, then that has implications for peace and security in the world.”

Should Australia enter an agreement, its contribution would be small, Albanese said, but peace would first need to be guaranteed through a ceasefire and an end to Russian aggression. Putin has indicated that he supports a truce in principle but has set out a host of details that need to be clarified before he’ll agree to a ceasefire.

While there has been bipartisan support for Ukraine in Australia, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has dismissed the idea of sending Australian peacekeepers to Ukraine as a “thought bubble”.

His deputy, Sussan Ley, told Sky News on Sunday: “When it comes to boots on the ground, this is a matter better handled by Europe.”

The call on Saturday builds on a flurry of diplomacy between European and other Western countries to find ways to help Ukraine after US President Donald Trump up-ended Washington’s previous support and launched peace talks with Russia.

Starmer has taken the lead, along with French President Emmanuel Macron, in assembling the “coalition of the willing”, in part to persuade Trump to maintain support for Kyiv. One outcome has already been a growing acceptance from European countries in particular that they need to do more to secure their own security, including by increasing defence spending.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emerged from the meeting calling for strengthened sanctions to pressure Russia into accepting a ceasefire without conditions that could pave the way for a peace deal.

In a series of posts on X, he said “Moscow understands one language” and that a 30-day ceasefire “without killings” would create a window in which “it would truly be possible to negotiate all aspects of a real peace”.

He also said it wasn’t up to Putin who was stationed in Ukraine after any peace agreement.

“If Putin wants to bring some foreign contingent onto Russia’s territory, that’s his business. But it is not his business to decide anything about Ukraine’s and Europe’s security,” Zelensky said.

Albanese said the conflict was not just a struggle for Ukraine’s national sovereignty.

“This is a struggle for the international rule of law,” he said. “What happens in the Euro-Atlantic has serious implications for our region – the Indo-Pacific – and vice versa.”

Albanese noted that Putin’s regime had “imperialist designs, for Ukraine and beyond”.

“We must ensure Russia’s illegal and immoral actions are not rewarded through any peace process,” he said.

Australia has committed $1.5 billion to help Ukraine defend itself, including $1.3 billion in military support and equipment such as Bushmaster vehicles. It has also helped train Ukrainian soldiers.

AAP, Reuters, AP

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