The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has opened the door to sending Australian troops to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force — despite the federal government playing down that prospect on Monday.
European leaders have been mulling sending troops to Ukraine in a “coalition of the willing” as part of a proposal to help orchestrate and enforce a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. Moscow has previously said it would not accept European troops on the ground.
It comes in the wake of a rift between the United States and Ukraine, with the Trump administration now pausing military aid to the country following the high-profile confrontation between Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week.
On Monday an Australian government spokesperson said while it would “consider” any proposals on Ukraine, the “deployment of Australian troops to support peacekeeping forces in Ukraine is not under consideration at this time”.
But on Tuesday morning Anthony Albanese struck a different tone, pointing to the government’s military aid to Kyiv and saying Australia “stands ready to assist” Ukraine.
“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,” he said.
The prime minister also pointed out that Australian peacekeepers had played a role stabilising several other overseas countries in recent decades.
“As a start, Australia has historically played an important role in areas, including in Africa, in Cyprus, in a range of peacekeeping areas,” he said.
We want to see peace in Ukraine, but we want to make sure that the illegal, immoral actions of Russia are not rewarded.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, said the world would have to step up in response to the US shift in stance.
“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. Ukraine is doing that and we are grateful for Australia’s increased willingness to do so,” Mr Myroshnychenko said.
The opposition leader, Peter Dutton, has repeatedly backed the government’s military support for Ukraine.
But he told reporters on Tuesday morning that while Australian troops should continue to train Ukrainian soldiers, it should be left to Europe to send in peacekeepers if a deal between Ukraine and Russia could be struck.
“In terms of if we should have boots on the ground, in Ukraine, I don’t see that,” he said.
“I think the Europeans have that task but what Donald Trump pointed out is the Europeans need to do more in the defence of Europe. And that is a statement of the obvious.”
