US asks Australia for Iraq troop boost

BARACK Obama has asked Australia for extra help in training Iraqi troops to fight against the ­Islamic State terrorist group.

Tony Abbott stands behind Russian President Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping for the APEC ‘family photo’.

BARACK Obama has asked Australia for extra help in training Iraqi troops to fight against the ­Islamic State terrorist group, as part of the next phase of the US-led coalition’s bid to stabilise the war-torn nation.

The US President flagged the request after meeting Tony Abbott before the start of the APEC meeting in Beijing last night, saying he was in talks with coalition partners about how they could “supplement’’ the US’s increased commitment of troops to train Iraqi security forces.

Mr Obama said the situation in Iraq had stabilised but the number of effective Iraqi units was significantly smaller than it needed to be.

“So the next phase is for us to train and assist Iraqi security forces so that they can build up,” Mr Obama said in a joint press conference with the Prime Minister.

Mr Obama said the US had a unique capability to set up the template for the training of Iraqi troops. “As we are setting that up I am having conversations with Australia and other coalition partners that have already committed to putting trainers in, how they can supplement and work with us in this overall effort,’’ he said.

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Mr Abbott said Australia’s ­priority was getting its special forces, which had been waiting for two months for legal clearance, into Baghdad and then into the field on the ‘advise and assist’ mission that we have set them”.

“That’s happening and I’m confident that our people will do good work,” he said.

Both leaders stressed it was up to the Iraqis to fight against ­Islamic State. After an hour-long meeting at the US embassy in Beijing, Mr Obama praised Australia’s leadership of the G20 and said the initiatives to be agreed at the meeting this weekend in Brisbane would be aimed at producing growth and jobs. Their meeting also covered trade, North Korea, recent protests in Hong Kong and the looming G20 agenda.

Mr Obama again expressed concern about the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank proposed by China, which Australia has been asked to join. The President said that while China should be encouraged to make a contribution to lifting growth, it needed to follow the US example of ­“restraining itself’’ from exercising too much control as the US had done during the ­establishment of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Mr Abbott said that “in principle’’ a new multilateral bank would be good for growth and good for jobs and Australia would be happy to be part of a genuinely multilateral body. But issues of transparency and governance remained and it was necessary to ensure that no one country could have unilateral control.

Mr Abbott is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin during the APEC summit to discuss Australia’s concerns about the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over Ukraine and the subsequent investigation.

Mr Abbott said Australia and Russia needed to work together to bring justice for the victims’ families. He toned down his approach to Mr Putin, having previously vowed to “shirt-front” the President at the G20.

“The first point to make is there is a big agenda here,” Mr Abbott said. “Conversations with the Russian President on a very important subject are only part and by no means the biggest part of the ­agenda Australia is following here in Beijing and in Brisbane.

“There were 38 Australians murdered when MH17 was brought down. It was not a trag­edy, it was an atrocity, it was a crime and Russia has said it will do everything it can to bring the ­perpetrators to justice. Good on Russia for saying that and I will just be looking for an assurance from the President that what they said then they meant and what they said then is what they still say now.”

Bill Shorten said that after talking tough, Mr Abbott was now singing a different tune.

“I don’t think families ever wanted Abbott to threaten to shirt-front Putin; they just wanted their government to be doing everything it can to get all the information it can from the Russians,’’ the Opposition Leader said.

“It does defy belief that the Russians don’t know more than they’re saying about this devastating tragedy. If one brain snap from Tony Abbott means President Putin pays short shrift to Australia’s demands for answers, then that is hugely worrying, and I sincerely hope that’s not the case.’’

The APEC leaders’ summit started last night with an official dinner ahead of a leaders’ retreat today. Mr Abbott said he could not think of better preparation for the G20 in Brisbane.

“The theme of the G20 is going to be growth and jobs. And we get growth and jobs with freer trade, with better infrastructure, with structural reform, with fiscal consolidation, and more resilient ­financial institutions,’’ he said.

Mr Abbott played down suggestions it was provocative of Mr Obama to call a meeting of leaders to discuss the Trans-Pacific Partnership when China was advocating an Asia-Pacific free-trade zone.