Albanese backs Trump-Xi-Putin summit as Europe warns on Ukraine
Australia endorsed this week's Shenzhen summit between Trump, Xi Jinping and Putin, even as European leaders warned the US against abandoning Ukraine.
Reported by The Guardian
ShareWhy it matters
Australia's position on this historic summit signals how middle powers will navigate great-power diplomacy on Ukraine and China.
In Australia. Australia is backing diplomatic engagement but also strengthening defence ties with the Philippines to counter Chinese aggression in the region.
Key facts
- Shenzhen
- Summit location
- 1945 Yalta conference
- Historical comparison
- More than four years
- War duration
- The three-way summit takes place this week at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Shenzhen, compared by some to the 1945 Yalta conference where major powers shaped the post-war world.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed the talks, saying dialogue is a good thing and Australia wants constructive outcomes including de-escalation in global conflicts.
- Albanese left open joining an Apec group photo with Putin if China, as host, wished it to proceed.
- European leaders expressed alarm: Germany's Friedrich Merz warned the US to stay on Team Europe and Team Ukraine, and France's Emmanuel Macron cautioned against forcing an unjust peace.
- Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned the summit must not become Yalta 2, 3 or 4, invoking redivision of influence without smaller nations' input.
