UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer working to include Australia in Coalition of the Willing in Ukraine

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has confirmed he is working to include Australia and non-European countries in the Coalition of the Willing that Britain and France are assembling to defend any peace deal in Ukraine.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said he is open to the idea, reversing a more hesitant approach by the government expressed in comments made to The Nightly just 24 hours prior.

“There’s discussion at the moment about potential peacekeeping, and from my government’s perspective, we’re open to consideration of any proposals going forward, as Australia has historically played an important role in … a range of peacekeeping areas,” Mr Albanese said on Tuesday.

“We want to see peace in Ukraine, but we want to make sure the illegal, immoral actions of Russia are not rewarded, and that Vladimir Putin and his designs, which are imperialistic, are not rewarded or encouraged.”

He said Australia hasn’t been asked for anything at this stage, but “we would give consideration” to any request.

“It’s in Australia’s national interest to stand with Ukraine,” he said.

Speaking to the House of Commons about his progress in formulating a peace plan for Ukraine, Sir Keir was asked by an opposition MP if he was working to broaden the coalition of allied countries that would put boots on the ground after any negotiation is struck between Russia and Ukraine.

Australia’s contributions, including the Bushmaster armoured vehicles, were singled out as an example of a country that had already contributed to Ukraine to join the coalition.

“On the right honourable gentleman’s important question about reaching out beyond Europe, I agree with him, and we are doing that,” Sir Keir told the House.

“This needs to be as broad a coalition as we can put together, with different capabilities.

“Each country should make whichever contribution is the most significant from its point of view, and I thank him for his support over the weekend.”

Sir Keir said that “boots on the ground” and “planes in the air” were crucial to guarantee any peace deal that is negotiated.

Europe is drawing up peace plans to take to the Trump Administration to back with a US security guarantee.

President Donald Trump has suggested that American workers on the ground in Ukraine working to extract minerals could provide enough of a guarantee.

But Sir Keir said for the first time that this would not be considered enough.

Australia is being urged to consider assisting Britain’s efforts to lead an allied response to securing Ukraine, with former Ambassador to Russia Peter Tesch saying it would be an important show of geopolitical and symbolic strength to be standing with our democratic allies.

On Monday, a Federal government spokeswoman told The Nightly that: “The deployment of Australian troops to support peacekeeping forces in Ukraine is not under consideration at this time.”

Last December, Defence Minister Richard Marles told a meeting between UK and Australian defence and foreign ministers that Australia was open to the idea of putting troops on the ground.

The Coalition has strongly rejected the idea with opposition leader Peter Dutton doubling down on his comments on Monday that: “There’s no need for Australia to send troops.”

“In terms of whether we should have boots on the ground in Ukraine, I don’t support that,” he said on Tuesday.

“I think the Europeans have that task and I think what President Trump pointed out is that the Europeans need to do more in defence of Europe.

“And that’s a statement of the obvious.”

Estonian foreign minister Margus Tsahkna told The Nightly last year that Australia, which is a NATO partner country and invited to the last three leader summits, could contribute to any peacekeeping force like it had done in Afghanistan.