Albanese warns world leaders Ukraine invasion has ‘consequences in our own region’
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has warned of the consequences closer to home of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, highlighting how “interconnected” Moscow is with Beijing.
The comments came amid a flurry of meetings with European leaders, an apparent thawing of Australia’s frosty relationship with France, and green shoots of progress on the “stalled” European Union free trade agreement.
Albanese, on his first visit to Europe as prime minister, said Russia’s war on Ukraine had produced a more united world, sending a “very positive message that the attack on a sovereign nation won’t be just regarded as being just about Ukraine”.
He said if Ukraine was allowed to be “subjugated by brute force”, that would have implications for the Asia Pacific region.
“Australia understands very much that what is playing out there has consequences in our own region,” he told the second day of the NATO Public Forum in Madrid, Spain, on Wednesday.
“If an authoritarian state can attack a sovereign national state and seek to enforce its will, through brutal military power, then that has implications for the entire region.
“Now, Australia is in the part of the world that’s a subject of strategic competition with the rise of China.
“The US has a historic role … in our region, and that’s why what is happening in Ukraine has to be viewed in that context and why … global order and the norms of international engagement are being tested here.”
He pointed to Russia’s massing of troops on the border of Ukraine during the Beijing Winter Olympics earlier this year and the signing of a “no limits” partnership a month later as evidence of “how interconnected China and Russia were”.
British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss fully endorsed Albanese’s comments, saying China was “watching Ukraine closely”.
“With China extending its influence through economic coercion, and building a capable military, there is a real risk that they draw the wrong idea, which results in a catastrophic miscalculation, such as invading Taiwan,” she said.
“And that is exactly what we saw, in the case of Ukraine, a strategic miscalculation by Putin.”
Albanese rebuilding French trust
Australia’s frosty relationship with France appears to be continuing to thaw.
Wednesday’s forum came after Albanese kicked off his attempted “reset” of relations with France with an informal chat at a European dinner featuring some of the world’s most powerful leaders.
Albanese described his discussion with French President Emmanuel Macron, at a NATO leaders dinner in Spain on Tuesday night (Wednesday AEST), as “very constructive”.
“He’s a warm character,” the Labor leader said.
“And we have had phone conversations previously. I very much look forward to my visit to Paris.”
Macron has invited Albanese to visit him in France later this week, a major sign of improved relations following an acrimonious falling out with former prime minister Scott Morrison over the AUKUS agreement.
The French president said Morrison lied to him over the ditching of a $90 billion contract for a French state-owned company to build a fleet of 12 conventional diesel-electric submarines.
Albanese on Tuesday blamed the deteriorating relationship with such a key European leader and the former government’s internationally criticised stance on climate change for EU-Australia free trade agreement negotiations having “stalled”.
After meetings with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel on Wednesday, Albanese said he’d secured agreements to “progress” the talks.
He said there could be further talks in October, or sooner, but it would take multiple meetings to find and resolve issues.
“It presents enormous opportunity, both in terms of people to people relations in terms of education and other services,” he said.
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“As well, it provides an opportunity for European businesses to be located in Australia and to use it as a springboard into the fastest growing regions of the world in human history.
“It provides an opportunity for us to potentially sell more products into the region.”
