The coalition appears likely to support any government decision to send Australian peacekeepers to Ukraine if security talks between US and European leaders bring peace to the war-torn nation.
When Prime Minister Anthony Albanese previously said Australia would consider requests to join a peacekeeping force, the former opposition leader Peter Dutton dismissed it as a “thought bubble”.
But Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has now indicated the coalition is open to Australia joining a global effort in Ukraine.
“We will work constructively with the government in our national interest when it comes to our international relationships,” a spokesman for Ms Ley said on Tuesday.
“We will assess any concrete proposals the government brings forward and put them through our internal processes.
“The coalition unequivocally supports Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion.”
Liberal frontbencher James Paterson added that security guarantees for Ukraine would be a necessary part of any peace deal, which the US is trying to broker between Russia and Ukraine.
“That would have to be led by the United States and European partners, but if Australia is invited to play a role in that, then we should consider whether we can make a constructive contribution to that,” he told ABC TV.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko said bipartisanship on his country’s security was vital.
“I welcome that decision, I think that’s a very smart decision,” he told AAP.
“We’ve traditionally had that bipartisan support and I think it’s the right thing to do.”
US President Donald Trump held talks in Washington on Tuesday morning, AEST, with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was flanked by a string of European leaders.
Ukraine’s security was the focal point of the meeting, after Mr Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss a peace deal in Alaska over the weekend.
Mr Trump said the US would guarantee the security of Ukraine as part of any deal to end the war, but no ceasefire or peace agreement would be reached until a three-way meeting of American, Russian and Ukrainian leaders could be held.
The US president has also ruled out Ukraine joining the NATO alliance, which Russia has described as a red line.
NATO’s 30-nation members, including the US, still hold to a security clause that states an attack on one is an attack on all.
But there were discussions about a NATO-like security guarantee for Ukraine, although details remain vague.
Mr Myroshnychenko said the White House meeting marked major progress toward ending the latest conflict, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and was “a demonstration of how we can work together to force Russia into peace”.
He lauded the combined diplomatic efforts of the European leaders, pointing to his president who said that it was “the best meeting he had for the past six months with Donald Trump”.
“I think it was a very positive meeting,” Mr Myroshnychenko said.
“I think it was an extraordinary diplomatic effort to have seven diplomatic leaders travelling, so that’s already unheard of in terms of the diplomatic effort.
“That was a very good demonstration of strength and unity.”
The ambassador added that security guarantees in any peace deal would be essential, and warned of the need for a strong deterrence against Russia.
“Russia stepped up their attacks overnight against civilians and destroyed a university,” he said.
“A Ukrainian university is a legitimate military target in their eyes.”
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