US President Donald Trump halts arms, PM Anthony Albanese gets willing

Anthony Albanese has flagged the potential deployment of Australian troops to Ukraine in a peacekeeping force, as Donald Trump escalated his row with the war-torn nation’s President.

Anthony Albanese at a press conference with Education Minister Jason Clare and NSW Premier Chris Minns. Picture: Monique Harmer/NewsWire

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Anthony Albanese has flagged the potential deployment of Australian troops to Ukraine in a ­“coalition of the willing” peacekeeping force, as Donald Trump escalated his row with the war-torn nation’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, by suspending military aid for Kyiv.

The Prime Minister said on Tuesday he was open to contributing personnel to the proposed British-led security force in a move questioned by the RSL and national security experts, who warned that the government needed to focus on security challenges closer to home.

The move, weeks out from an election, follows days of criticism of the government’s response to a Chinese naval task group circumnavigating Australia, and places Labor at odds with the Coalition, which has rejected the need for such a deployment.

As Europe scrambles to come up with a plan to help Ukraine ­secure peace on its terms, the US President further undermined Kyiv’s position by pausing military support for the country, including weapons already in transit.

A White House official said: “The President has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well. We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution.”

The order took effect immediately, halting a reported $1bn-plus worth of arms and ammunition transfers that were in the pipeline or on order.

The extraordinary move aimed at forcing Mr Zelensky to the bargaining table came after Mr Trump and Vice-President JD Vance berated the Ukraine President in the Oval Office and declared he was “not ready’ for peace.

Senior US Defence Department officials said the pause would last until the President determined Ukraine’s leaders had demonstrated a “good faith” commitment to peace.

Mr Albanese took a different tack, surprising even members of his government.

“There’s a discussion at the _moment about potential peacekeeping and from my government’s perspective, we’re open to consideration of any proposals going forward,” Mr Albanese said.

“Australia has historically played an important role in areas including in Africa, in Cyprus, in a range of peacekeeping areas.

“We want to see peace in Ukraine, but we want to make sure that the illegal, immoral actions of Russia are not rewarded and that Vladimir Putin and his designs, which are imperialistic, not just on Ukraine but on other countries, are not rewarded or encouraged.”

Mr Albanese said Australia had not yet been asked to provide troops to the proposed peace-keeping mission, but if a request was made “we would give consideration to it”.

He said that while the US was a vital ally to Australia, “it is in Australia’s national interest to stand with Ukraine, and that’s what my government is doing.”

US President Donald Trump has paused all US aid to Ukraine. Picture: AFP

RSL president Greg Melick said deploying troops was a matter for the government, “but we would be concerned at Australia’s ­capacity, due to insufficient ­defence spending especially in ­relation to the army, as to the ­appropriateness of sending troops to Ukraine at a time when Indo-Pacific stability is far from certain”.

The US Studies Centre’s Peter Dean was also critical of the prospect of sending troops to Europe, saying Australia needed to focus on its immediate region.

“We have very limited resources and a challenging region. Any substantial commitment of forces would refuse defence capability in our region. Strategy is about choices and knowing when to say no is critical,” Professor Dean said.

Former foreign minister Alexander Downer said the Australian Defence Force was already spread too thinly to contemplate another foreign deployment.

“Just give them logistical support – a medical unit, for example,” Mr Downer said. “We can’t even monitor Chinese warships circumventing our country.”

Ukraine’s top diplomat in Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, welcomed the Prime Minister’s show of support.

“Whether one likes it or not, America is changing its role in the world. It’s up to the world to step up in the name of democracy,” Mr Myroshnychenko said.

“Ukraine is doing that and we are grateful for Australia’s increased willingness to do so.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer proposed the peacekeeping force to European leaders at a crisis meeting on Monday, saying the UK would work with France and a small number of other countries to develop a ceasefire plan that would be backed by “boots on the ground, and planes in the air”.

Mr Albanese’s openness to joining the proposed coalition came a day after Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy appeared to rule out Australian participation. “We’re not envisaging that sort of commitment, but we stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine, and we are proud to be the biggest dominant non NATO contributor,” Mr Conroy said.

Peter Dutton also rejected the idea, saying European nations needed to “step up” and deal with the security threat on their eastern frontier.

“There’s no need for Australia to send troops, but we should continue our support for Ukraine,” the Opposition Leader said.

“The European nations, particularly the bigger nations, can’t continue to rely for financial ­support or military support from the United States. They need to chip in themselves.”

The US aid pause for Ukraine came as Mr Trump met with his aides to discuss his administration’s next steps to secure a peace settlement between Kyiv and Moscow.

Speaking in the White House on Tuesday (AEDT), Mr Trump said of Mr Zelensky: “Now maybe somebody doesn’t want to make a deal. And, if somebody doesn’t want to make a deal, I think that person won’t be around very long. That person will not be listened to very long, because I believe that Russia wants to make a deal.”

Earlier, Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that Mr Zelensky’s remark that any agreement was “far away” was the “worst statement that could have been made by Zelensky, and America will not put up with it for much longer!”

“It is what I was saying, this guy doesn’t want there to be Peace as long as he has America’s backing,” Mr Trump posted.

He also took aim at European leaders who rallied around the Ukrainian leader in London over the weekend for saying that “they cannot do the job without the US”.

“Probably not a great statement to have been made in terms of a show of strength against Russia,” Mr Trump said. “What are they thinking?”

Meanwhile, Western Australian Premier prompted laughter at a business breakfast on Tuesday by labelling Vice President Vance a “knob”.

Engaging in a question and answer session in Perth this morning after delivering a speech at a business breakfast, Mr Cook was asked to complete the sentence “JD Vance is a…”

“Knob,” Mr Cook replied. He added: “You’ve got to have one unprofessional moment don’t you.”

His comment came amid speculation Mr Vance ambushed Mr Zelensky in front of the media in the Oval Office on Friday.