Canberra, Mar 4 Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday stated that his government is "open to consideration" of the country's involvement in any peacekeeping process in Ukraine.
Addressing a press conference in Sydney, PM Albanese said, "Australia stands ready to assist Ukraine. We have contributed $1.5 billion with $1.3 billion for military assistance directly. There is discussion at the moment about potential peacekeeping. And from my government's perspective, we are open to consideration of any proposals going forward."
"With regard to the United States, the US is an important ally of Australia. That remains the case since an alliance between our nations. With regard to Australia's foreign policy, Australia determines our foreign policy. We do it in Australia's national interest, and it is in Australia's national interest to stand with Ukraine. And that's what my Government is doing," he further added.
Meanwhile, opposition leader and Prime Ministerial candidate for the upcoming elections in Australia, Peter Dutton stated that he does not see a role for Australia in sending troops as part of a peacekeeping process, echoing US President Donald Trump's suggestion that Europeans should "do more in the defence of Europe".
"In terms of whether we should have boots on the ground, in Ukraine, I don't see that. I think the Europeans have that task, and I think what President Trump's pointed out is that the Europeans need to do more in the defence of Europe, and that's a statement of the obvious," the Australian Broadcasting Corporation quoted Dutton as saying.
European leaders have been considering sending troops to Ukraine in a "coalition of the willing" as part of a proposal to help and enforce a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia. Russia has earlier stated that it would oppose the presence of European troops on the ground.
It came under consideration after the rift between the United States and Ukraine escalated following last week's confrontation between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Trump in Washington.
Trump has now halted all aid to Ukraine till as much time as it takes to determine Zelensky's commitment to ending the war with Russia, according to multiple US media reports.
--IANS
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