Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

The opposition remains deeply concerned by the situation in Ukraine. We urge restraint and dialogue. We call on Russia to abide by the 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances for Ukraine. We support the United Nations Secretary-General's call for preservation of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. The United Nations Security Council has also met to discuss the unfolding situation, and Australia should use our membership of the Security Council to continue to make our position very clear. We support the United Kingdom Foreign Secretary's call for Ukraine not to rise to provocation, and we support the strong statements that we have heard from the United States, from NATO countries and others, including offers of economic support for Ukraine. The opposition stand ready to support all of the Australian government's efforts to de-escalate tensions in Ukraine.

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