Australian commitment to ‘consider contributing’ to Ukraine coalition welcomed
Britain and France have been seeking to build a coalition of nations willing to defend a peace deal in Ukraine.
Sir Keir Starmer has welcomed a commitment from Australia to “consider contributing to a coalition of the willing for Ukraine”, Downing Street has said.
The Prime Minister had a call with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese on Saturday, the latest in a series of conversations Sir Keir has had as the UK continues its diplomatic push for a peace deal in Ukraine.
Britain and France have been seeking to build a coalition of nations willing to defend an agreement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that further Russian strikes prove “they are not thinking about how to end the war” and that he is “grateful to all the leaders, diplomats from partner countries, and civil society figures who support Ukraine”.
A readout of the conversation from a Downing Street spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister began by expressing his support for all Australians affected by the cyclone and paid tribute to the strength of the partnership between the two countries.
“He welcomed Prime Minister Albanese’s commitment to consider contributing to a coalition of the willing for Ukraine and looked forward to the chiefs of defence meeting in Paris on Tuesday.
“The Prime Minister also reiterated the UK’s commitment to the AUKUS programme.
“The leaders agreed to stay in touch.”
Officials from about 20 largely European and Commonwealth countries took part in the talks about the peacekeeping coalition earlier this week.
Not all the countries interested in the plan would necessarily provide troops to a peacekeeping force but they could potentially contribute in other ways.
Meanwhile, former national security adviser and cabinet secretary Lord Mark Sedwill has warned that if boots are put on the ground, it could be a commitment of “many years”.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Week in Westminster, Lord Sedwill said that the UK would “have to be willing to display strategic patience”.
He explained that “if our adversaries […] believe they can just wait us out” then “we will not succeed”.
“So we have to be willing to sustain such an effort for potentially quite a long period,” he said.
“Could be many years”.
In a message on X on Saturday evening, Mr Zelensky said 11 people had died in a strike in the city of Dobropillya.
He added: “Russia continues to prove with its cruelty, day after day, that nothing has changed for them in Moscow – they are not thinking about how to end the war, but how to destroy and capture more while the world allows them to continue. Of course, we are doing everything we can to protect lives.”
Sir Keir’s phone call with the Australian leader comes after Sir Keir spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron to “compare notes” on their work towards a peace deal.
On Thursday, the EU moved to free up billions of euros for security as the bloc grapples with the prospect of the US reducing assistance for Europe.
In a separate call with the president of the European Council, Antonio Costa, president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the leaders of Canada, Turkey, Norway and Iceland, Sir Keir had described the EU’s move as a “historic step forward”.
Talks between the US and Ukraine in search of a deal are expected in Saudi Arabia.
Earlier on Saturday, former UK defence secretary Ben Wallace suggested that it would not be the “end of the world” if the US pulled out of Nato.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he called such a prospect “horrific” but added: “We have the will in Europe and the money, if we choose to, to fix our own security and defence.”
He later added: “I think we are already witnessing, even if they don’t pull out of Nato, a new era. We are witnessing an era where we cannot take for granted US security guarantees.”
On Friday, US president Donald Trump suggested that Kyiv was more difficult to deal with than the Kremlin, and said he wanted to get the war “finished” before committing to security guarantees.
He had earlier said that he was “strongly considering” sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a final peace deal is reached, given Moscow was “absolutely pounding” Ukraine.
In a post on TruthSocial, his own social media network, Mr Trump said: “Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large scale Banking Sanctions, Sanctions, and Tariffs on Russia until a Cease Fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED. To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late. Thank you!!!”
