UK welcomes Albanese’s willingness to commit peacekeeping troops

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has welcomed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s willingness to contribute to a peacekeeping force in Ukraine, as Australia’s top military representative in Europe prepares to head to Paris for high-powered talks on the future of the war-ravaged country.

Starmer and Albanese spoke by phone on Saturday night, in which they discussed the British prime minister’s push for a multinational peacekeeping operation to safeguard any truce between Ukraine and Russia.

Ahead of what could be a decisive week for Ukraine’s future, a Downing Street spokesperson said that Starmer “welcomed Prime Minister Albanese’s commitment to consider contributing to a coalition of the willing for Ukraine”.

Anthony Albanese spoke with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at the weekend.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Albanese told reporters in Canberra that “both of our nations are very clear about our support for Ukraine”, while adding it was too early to say exactly how any peacekeeping force would operate.

“I certainly have said very clearly, publicly, repeatedly, that we would give consideration to participating in any peacekeeping mission in Ukraine,” he said, reinforcing his comments last week.

Air Vice Marshal Di Turton, Australia’s military representative to NATO and the European Union, will represent the government at a meeting of European defence chiefs in Paris on Tuesday.

That meeting will be followed by a gathering of European defence ministers on Wednesday, as Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron rush to finalise a peace plan to present to US President Donald Trump to stave off a hurried ceasefire deal that disadvantages Ukraine in favour of Russia.

“You can’t have a peacekeeping mission without having peace,” Albanese said.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has rejected the idea of sending Australian peacekeepers to Ukraine, saying the task was up to Europe.

Dutton said on Sunday that “my judgment is that to base troops in Europe at the moment is the wrong decision for our country” because “we should be doing everything we can to bolster our security and our defences”.

Several top military experts have argued that the Australian Defence Force is too stretched with commitments in the Indo-Pacific to make a meaningful contribution to peacekeeping in Europe.

Russia launched a series of devastating drone and missile attacks on Ukraine over the weekend, killing at least 17 people and injuring dozens more after Trump suspended US military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

Trump defended Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying he was “doing what anybody would do” while fighting a war.

“I’m finding it more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine, and they don’t have the cards,” Trump told reporters at the White House, where he had a remarkable on-camera argument with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky last month.

“In terms of getting a final settlement, it may be easier dealing with Russia.”

As US and Ukrainian officials prepare to meet for negotiations in Saudi Arabia this week, Zelensky said on social media: “Ukrainian and American teams have resumed work, and we hope that next week we will have a meaningful meeting.

“Ukraine has been seeking peace since the very first moment of the war, and we have always stated that the war continues solely because of Russia.”

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