Foreign Minister Penny Wong urges Russia to accept ceasefire proposal with Ukraine
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has urged Russia to stop its war in Ukraine after Kyiv said it would accept a 30-day ceasefire proposal during talks with the United States.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country was “ready to take this step” towards peace after high level talks between US and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia.
Washington has restored suspended intelligence sharing and security assistance for Ukraine and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said: “The ball is now in Russia’s court.”
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Speaking on Sky News, Senator Wong said: “Russia should agree to a ceasefire deal. Russia should cease its war.
“We’ve made that clear, and the pressure is on Russia now that the Ukrainians have made their position very clear, that they are willing to consider a 30 day ceasefire.”
Asked if Australia was intimidated by Russia’s warning of “grave consequences” if it puts “boots on the ground” in a peacekeeping force, she responded with a firm “No.”
“Australia doesn’t blink in the face of that sort of bullying,” she said.
The Foreign Minister stressed Canberra had agreed only to “consider a request” to send Australian troops to help enforce a future peace agreement. But there is no request yet on the table.
“Let’s remember why we are standing up for Ukraine. We stand up for Ukraine because we don’t believe the world can stand silent and passive in the face of a larger power invading another country and taking its territory and killing its people,” she said.
Moscow has not yet responded to the latest development and has said it will do so after being briefed by Washington on the talks.
Mr Rubio told a press conference in Jeddah late on Tuesday that Ukraine was “ready to stop shooting and start talking” and he hoped Russia would accept the proposal.
“Today we made an offer that the Ukrainians have accepted, which is to enter into a ceasefire and into immediate negotiations,” he said.
“We’ll take this offer now to the Russians and we hope they’ll say yes to peace. The ball is now in their court,” he added.
