Source : Perth Now news
Australia has “no interest” in purchasing diesel from Russia despite prices continue to surge off the back of the war on Iran, after Donald Trump backflipped on years of US foreign policy by inking a new deal with Vladimir Putin.
Russia will supply immediately supply the United States with more 300,000 tonnes of diesel, and an additional 500,000 tonnes by November, under the deal slammed by Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky as a “gift to Putin”.
The US had put hold diesel imports from Russia following Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and has sought to sanction countries receiving large sums of Russian gas and oil.
Funds from those sales have been used to continue the war, officials allege.
On Sunday, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Australia had “no interest in buying fuel from Russia”.
“The war in Ukraine has been horrific and unacceptable,” he told News24.
“There is no way in the world we want to see a situation where Putin gets advantages from those sorts of conflicts.”
Energy Minister Chris Bowen made similar remarks on Saturday during his weekly press conference addressing the fuel situation.
“We have the arrangements in place as best as we possibly can with our trading partners to ensure that Russian fuel doesn’t flow to Australia,” he said.
“We do not want Vladimir Putin to benefit from this war in the Middle East.”
Mr Trump has sought to blame Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries and export facilities for rising costs as a lasting peace between Washington and Tehran after the US and Israel launched a surprise attack on Iran in February remain elusive.
Ukrainian ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko said officials meeting in Florida had offered a cessation of those strikes.
“We will stop hitting Russian oil refineries if Russians, in exchange, will stop hitting our energy infrastructure,” he told the ABC.
“Actually, we started hitting their oil refineries a year after they have been destroying our energy systems. That was our response to what Russians have done in Ukraine.”
Mr Myroshnychenko said he was “grateful” for Australia’s support of Ukraine.
“Two weeks ago, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and President Zelenskyy have signed a bilateral security agreement in New York,” he said.
“Also, Australian Government has announced a $60m package which includes military, humanitarian, and energy assistance to Ukraine, and I’m very grateful to the Australian Government for standing with Ukraine.”
He also pushed back on claims by Mr Trump of new leadership in Ukraine.
Kyiv has held a presidential election in 2019, with the ballot postponed because of the war and corresponding concerns about electoral integrity.
“Ukrainian people are united around President Zelenskyy and in our fighting back to the Russians,” Mr Myroshnychenko said.
“And it was his ability to mobilise the resistance 4.5 years ago, this is what keeps us going.
“There is a general consensus in Ukraine, among even opposition leaders, that there is no way how we can hold elections at the moment just because of the security threats, because of the legitimacy of future elections, and they could be questioned if they are not done properly and if we cannot guarantee that those people who are at the front lines can vote, including those people who are outside of Ukraine.
“What we need now, we need actually resolve – resolve of our American partners, of our European partners – in actually imposing further restrictions on Russia.
“ … President Zelenskyy has actually offered to the Americans the only way to stop this energy issue, which America (is) experiencing now, is to actually secure an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, in which way we will stop hitting Russian oil refineries, and Russians stop attacking our energy infrastructure.”
New legislation seeking to further sanction Russia is expected to pass parliament next week.
Australia already has a wide-reaching sanctions regime in-place targeting Russian individuals, businesses, and its so-called shadow tanker fleet.
