Labor MPs privately said the government was extremely wary of directly criticising Trump as it seeks to negotiate tariff exemptions.
Labor MPs privately said the government was extremely wary of directly criticising Trump as it seeks to negotiate tariff exemptions.
- Breaking
- Politics
- Federal
- Russia-Ukraine war
By Matthew Knott
Updated February 20, 2025 — 1.28pmfirst published at 12.35pm
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has called out Donald Trump for making inflammatory and misleading statements about Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, in a striking contrast to senior Albanese government ministers’ reluctance to directly criticise the US president.
The Australian-Ukrainian community has pleaded with the government to speak out more strongly in defence of Ukraine after Trump called Zelensky a “dictator without elections” and claimed the war was Ukraine’s fault despite Russia invading its smaller neighbour in 2022.
“I think President Trump has got it wrong in relation to some of the public commentary that I’ve seen him make in relation to President Zelensky and the situation in the Ukraine,” Dutton told 2GB radio on Thursday.
Describing the war in Ukraine, which is about to pass the three-year mark, as an “unprovoked” act of aggression by Russia, Dutton said that “the thought that President Zelensky or the Ukrainian people started this battle, or somehow they were responsible for the war, is just wrong”.
Dutton said: “Australia should stand strong and proud with the people of Ukraine. It’s a democracy, and this is a fight for civilisation. Vladimir Putin is a murderous dictator, and we shouldn’t be giving him an inch.”
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Dutton said any moves to end the war need to be given “very, very careful thought … because if we make Europe less safe, or we provide some sort of support to Putin deliberately, or inadvertently that is a terrible, terrible outcome”.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman David Coleman told this masthead that, while the US is Australia’s strongest security partner, “Australia has its own positions on issues” that differed to Trump’s.
“The war is not Ukraine’s fault,” Coleman said. “Russia invaded Ukraine; Ukraine didn’t invade anyone. Zelensky is not a dictator.”
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Asked if he approved of Trump’s comments on Thursday, Albanese told reporters in Whyalla: “I speak for Australia’s interests and Australia stands with Ukraine in their struggle, which is a struggle not just for their own national sovereignty but it is a struggle to stand up for the international rule of law.”
Asked whether he believed Zelensky was a dictator, Defence Minister Richard Marles told Sky News: “Well, no, but I’m also not about to engage in a running commentary of President Trump’s remarks.”
He continued: “The aggressor here is Russia. They were the ones who illegally crossed into Ukraine, who invaded Ukraine. That is why we are supporting Ukraine. We see that what’s at stake here is the global rules-based order. We will continue to support Ukraine.”
Labor MPs privately said the government was extremely wary of directly criticising Trump over any issue as it seeks to negotiate exemptions for Australia from steel and aluminium tariffs.
Kateryna Argyrou, co-chair of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, said the Albanese government needed to provide leadership and “add its voice in support of Ukraine”.
“Australia has been a strong ally and friend to Ukraine, and for that we will be forever grateful,” Argyrou said. “This is not the time to stay silent.”
Argyrou said Trump’s comments were “shocking and appalling”, adding that “Trump appears to be captured by Russian propaganda, which is a very dangerous situation for Ukraine.”
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Former prime minister Tony Abbott, who is now a director of Fox Corp, said Trump was “living in fantasy land” over Ukraine, and that the nation needed NATO membership or troops on the ground as a condition of any ceasefire.
“Obviously we want peace, but it can’t just be a surrender to vicious, naked aggression, it can’t be,” he told Time Radio in London. “The basis for peace has got to be that Ukraine can live in independence and security going forward.”
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Matthew Knott is the foreign affairs and national security correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via Twitter or Facebook.
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