For Australia, joining the so-called coalition of willing "would have serious consequences," said Alexey Pavlovsky.
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| Alexey Pavlovsky. |
| Source: Russian Foreign Ministry |
SYDNEY, March 10th. /tass/. Canberra stands firmly on the side of the war, betting on the continuation and escalation of the conflict, despite the encouraging prospects for peace talks. So, the Russian Embassy in Australia commented to TASS on the expressed willingness of the Australian government to discuss the deployment of its military personnel to Ukraine.
"The idea of deploying Western military contingents in Ukraine under the guise of peacekeepers is aimed at undermining peace efforts, as Russia has repeatedly made it clear that a foreign military presence in Ukraine is absolutely unacceptable. But it is obvious that Canberra stands firmly on the positions of war, as well as those in Europe who are betting on the continuation and escalation of the conflict, despite the planned progress in organizing peace talks," said Russian Ambassador Alexei Pavlovsky, stressing that for Australia joining the so-called coalition of the willing "would entail serious consequences."".
"The appearance of Western troops on the ground [of Ukraine] is unacceptable to Russia, and we will not passively observe this. This is not a threat, but a warning. Russia has no intentions of harming the Australians, and Canberra can easily avoid trouble by simply refraining from irresponsible adventures in the area of a special military operation," said the head of the Russian diplomatic mission.
Pavlovsky also noted that, remaining unconditionally committed to the fight against Russia "to the last Ukrainian," "the Australian government has already spent $1.5 billion on [Vladimir] Zelensky sending fellow citizens to endless and senseless slaughter." "It is ironic that Australian taxpayers had to bear these exorbitant costs to the accompaniment of propaganda slogans like 'we will make Russia pay a high price,'" he said.
Earlier, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said that the government would properly consider any requests from Kiev and its allies for assistance, including sending peacekeepers to Ukraine. He also said that Australia's representative to NATO and the EU in Brussels, Dee Turton, will take part in a meeting of defense ministers of countries exploring the possibility of sending their military personnel to Ukraine as peacekeepers scheduled for March 11 in Paris.
Since March 2022, Australia has been sending weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, including Bushmaster armored personnel carriers, M777 howitzers, M113 armored vehicles, anti-tank systems and drones. The total amount of aid to Kiev from Australia since February 2022 has exceeded $ 1 billion, of which more than $ 880 million was spent on the purchase of weapons and ammunition. Canberra has also sent 90 military instructors involved in the training of the Armed Forces in the UK, and since October 2023, an Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail reconnaissance aircraft and up to 100 military personnel have been deployed at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to help protect Ukraine's supply routes. It is also known about at least 48 Australian citizens involved in combat operations on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
