Scott Morrison says Australia “will follow through” with sanctions against Russia should they make good on their threats of invasion.
The world continues to hold its breath with an invasion seemingly imminent, after a “powerful explosion” hit a gas pipeline in eastern Ukraine on Saturday.
Rebels in the area ordered women and children to evacuate to southern Russia due to fears of conflict, while NATO is relocating staff from capital Kyiv to Lviv in the west.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on western nations to enforce sanctions on Russia in the event of an invasion.
In the wake of the United States threatening sanctions, Prime Minister Morrison confirmed Australia would follow through with sanctions should the conflict escalate.
He noted Australia had “always stood up to bullying and coercion”, and would continue to do so.
“We will follow through with sanctions together and in partnership with all of our other allies and partners,” Mr Morrison said on Sunday.
“And that is one of the key issues of discussion that we have been engaged in with other leaders and with other countries, and to ensure that we move txjmtzywogether. Because the world will be moving together to seek to counteract what would be a terrible act of violence – unprovoked, unjustified, unwarranted and unacceptable.”
Mr Morrison said Foreign Minister Marise Payne would be meeting with her Ukraine counterpart on Monday, and Australia was involved at the Munich security conference happening presently.
While Australia will not send troops to Ukraine in the event of an invasion, Mr Morrison said we would seek to support in other ways.
“There are many ways we can work with both our partners and allies, and can work directly to support Ukraine in the work they’re doing – whether it be in the cyberspace area, with planning and various other elements … I can’t go into too much detail on this,” Mr Morrison said.
“These are rather conventional ways where we do provide assistance in areas that don’t require deployment of troops on the ground.
“We’ll work together as part of a team.”
Mr Morrison doubled down on Russia’s threats of invasion, calling it “unacceptable, unwarranted and unprovoked”.
“This is not a legitimate action. There is no just grievance which is being pursued by Russia in relation to Ukraine,” he said.
“If Ukraine wants to join NATO, that’s up to them. It’s not up to other countries to seek to bully them out of decisions that they want to make as a sovereign country, and they (Russia) cannot use threats of violence to intimidate countries in this way.
“It’s not just about their territorial sovereignty. It’s also about the fact that they’re trying to bully and coerce them out of making decisions that are ultimately up to them. Whether they join NATO or not, that’s a matter for Ukraine.
“They have every right to make that decision as a sovereign nation. That’s why it’s so important that the free countries of the world are out there giving them so much support.”
