Ten-year security agreement extends Australian cooperation into peacetime
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York on 23 September and announced $60 million in additional Australian support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion, according to The Guardian. The funding, announced on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, comprises $45 million in Australian Defence Force equipment, $10 million for Ukraine’s energy support fund, and $5 million in humanitarian assistance.
The 10-year bilateral security agreement the two leaders signed commits Australia to expanded cooperation with Ukraine during the ongoing war and into peacetime, Albanese said. The prime minister said the agreement was a proud day for Australians in seeking to uphold international laws. As part of the agreement, Australia will step up training to help Ukrainian forces deter and repel any future Russian attacks and will explore cooperation on training centres and the joint production of air-defence measures, missiles, and drones, The Guardian reported. The agreement will be in place not only during the war in Ukraine, but during peacetime once the conflict concludes, Albanese said.
Albanese became emotional as he paid tribute to his “friend” Zelenskyy in his fight against Russian aggression. “[His] leadership has been, I think, quite extraordinary, leading people in circumstances which are extraordinarily difficult,” Albanese said. “Russia thought it could just steamroll through in a matter of weeks, and what we have found is that the people of Ukraine were underestimated.”
The prime minister framed Ukraine’s defense as a global issue rather than a regional one. “This is an issue not just for Europe, this is an issue for the world,” Albanese told reporters upon signing the agreement. “If a large, more powerful country in Russia is allowed to profit from breaking the international rules of law with its illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine, then that sets a bad precedent for the entire world.”
The new commitment brings Australia’s total contribution to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion in 2022 to $1.9 billion, The Guardian reported. Zelenskyy called the bilateral agreement the “strongest document between our countries” and said it would increase trade and security. “It’s all for our people, for the security,” he said.
The meeting was part of a broader day of diplomacy for Albanese in New York. The prime minister also addressed the Atlantic Council with a major speech on foreign policy and signed a new strategic partnership with the Netherlands, seeking to boost defence ties and secure justice for the victims of MH17.
Albanese was expected to argue in his Atlantic Council speech that the international world order set up following the Second World War was no longer fit for purpose and that institutions that were necessary post-1945 were not enough to meet present-day challenges, according to The Guardian. Albanese was expected to say in his speech: “The post-1945 world order is no longer fit for purpose. Universal institutions that remain necessary are now not always sufficient for the challenges we face.”
Albanese was also expected to say in his speech: “Since the end of the cold war, the prevailing assumptions of international affairs were clear: openness was security, efficiency mattered more than resilience and international rules would be observed. Those assumptions rested on the expectation that the influence of the major democratic powers would remain largely unchallenged.”
According to The Guardian, the prime minister will use the speech on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York to argue that partnerships with alliances remain crucial in a rapidly changing global environment. Australian Associated Press also contributed to The Guardian’s reporting.