Source : Perth Now news
Anthony Albanese may be faced with the diplomatic dilemma of taking a photo with Russia’s Vladimir Putin when leaders of the world’s top 20 economies gather in the US next month.
Western governments, including Australia, expect Mr Putin to take up the Trump administration’s invite to the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Miami after his longtime chief diplomat, Sergei Lavrov, attended a forerunner event this weekend.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong was among several attendees who refused to take a so-called family photo with Mr Lavrov, forcing US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to call it off.
But refusing to partake in a photo opportunity run by US President Donald Trump may have steeper repercussions.
Cabinet minister Murray Watt — known as Mr Albanese’s fixer on Capital Hill — would not “pre-empt what the Prime Minister’s decision will be” when asked on Sunday, but said Australia’s position is “that we don’t want to normalise Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine”.
He added that if “being out of a photograph” advanced that, “then that’s a good thing”.
Opposition assistant treasury spokesman Kevin Hogan also left it up to Mr Albanese’s “discretion”, but noted that “if he was not to … appear with the Russian President, I think that’s a good thing”.
“Russia has invaded a free and independent country next door in Ukraine,” Mr Hogan told News24’s Sunday Agenda.
“We have supported the government in anything they’ve done to support Ukraine, and we will continue to support that.
“What Russia is doing is not okay, and that needs to be expressed in whatever way the Prime Minister thinks he should at that meeting.”
Australia’s support for Ukraine ‘steadfast’: Wong
Mr Rubio defended Russia’s G20 invite after his counterparts boycotted the photo with Mr Lavrov.
He said dialogue with Moscow was crucial “to end the war in Ukraine peacefully”.
“How can you have a negotiated settlement between Russia and Ukraine if you don’t have the ability to talk to both Russia and Ukraine? How can you talk to both Russia and Ukraine unless you interact with them?” Mr Rubio said.
He also said that Mr Trump “does not view meeting with someone or talking to someone as legitimising everything they do or everything they stand for”.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, took a different view, arguing that bringing Russia back into “international fora is just normalising war crimes being committed every day now”.
Senator Wong did not issue any remarks on the boycott but restated Australia’s “steadfast support for Ukraine” in a social media post with Ms Kallas.
Australia is one of Ukraine’s biggest backers outside NATO. It has given Ukraine almost $1.9bn in direct aid and helped train troops while slapping thousands of co-ordinated sanctions on Russia and its shadow fleet of oil tankers.
The bipartisan support, which includes dozens of battle tanks, has earned Australia a spot on Mr Putin’s list of “unfriendly countries”.
In September, Mr Albanese signed a security agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The agreement lets Ukraine’s military share “battle-tested expertise” with Australian soldiers and weapon makers.
“This is an issue not just for Europe,” Mr Albanese said at the time.
“This is an issue for the world because, if a large, more powerful country like Russia is allowed to profit from breaking international law through its illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine, then that sets a bad precedent for the entire world.”
