Returning to the interview with Foreign Secretary Marise Payne on RN breakfast earlier this morning, and the senator did not want to speculate on what would happen if Russia did indeed take over Ukraine.
“I don’t think it’s worth speculating. But what is happening here is that authoritarian regimes are trying to exercise their power, their aggressiveness. It’s not helpful to security or stability in any way,” she said.
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“We have been very clear about this. Like several members of the EU, UK and USA. And we clearly sought to defuse Russia’s behavior in this regard. »
Senator Payne reiterated that Australia will not participate “with respect to military assistance” at the Ukrainian border. However, Russian sanctions are “still under review” and support may come in the form of cybersecurity assistance to Ukraine.
“This, again, is a matter that was discussed with the UK Foreign Secretary and his Defense Secretary counterpart last week. [Sanctions] are a potential tool that Australia can use in concert with… like-minded [countries] to report and express serious concerns about such aggressive behavior.
“We will … continue to pursue [talks on cybersecurity] in the coming days.”
