What a difference a month makes.
Tony Abbott, 13 October:
“Look, I’m going to shirt-front Mr Putin — you bet I am. I’m going to be saying to Mr Putin — Australians were murdered and they were murdered by Russian-backed rebels using Russian supplied equipment. We are very unhappy about this. We accept that you didn’t want this to happen, but we now demand that you fully cooperate with the criminal investigation, and if the criminal investigation identifies suspects that you have some influence over, they’ve got to be produced and justice has got to be done.”
Tony Abbott, yesterday:
“The first point to make is that there is a big agenda here and conversations with the Russian President on a very important subject are only part, and by no means the biggest part, of the agenda that Australia is following here in Beijing and subsequently in Brisbane. But as is well-known, 38 Australians were murdered when flight MH17 was brought down. It wasn’t a tragedy; it was an atrocity, it was a crime and Russia has said that it will do everything to bring the perpetrators to justice. Good on Russia for saying that and I will just be looking for an assurance from the President that what they said then, they meant, and what they said then is still what they say now.”
From shirt-fronting to “good on Russia” in just four weeks. You weren’t saying one thing for crass domestic political considerations and then quite another when faced with the realities of international relations were you, Prime Minister?
22 thoughts on “Crikey says: is Putin now on Team Australia?”
Venise Alstergren
November 11, 2014 at 6:20 pmTONY ABBOTT’S stances appear to form two parts. The first is outrageous hyperbole against someone who isn’t there, or, his laundered announcements after the Liberal Party machine has stuck a knife into him about shooting out off-the-cuff diatribes. It’s what happens when someone devoid of class gets the top job-and is a bully.
Venise Alstergren
November 11, 2014 at 6:21 pmKLEWSO: Giggle.
David Hand
November 11, 2014 at 6:37 pmIt’s good that Abbott and Bishop are running foreign policy and you lot aren’t.
Bill Hilliger
November 11, 2014 at 6:42 pmAnother unfulfilled promise by that poltroon Tony rAbbott.
Yclept
November 11, 2014 at 7:36 pmYep David, running it into the ground.
Luke Hellboy
November 11, 2014 at 8:14 pmAs an ex-KGB thug, I’m sure Vlad would at least appreciate the underlying principles of Toady’s “team oz” – propaganda, jingoism, persecution of undesirables and those with dangerous differing political views as well as manipulating laws and public resources to benefit of the few at the top of the system. Once they have finished grappling with their shirts off, they could compare notes.
Luke Hellboy
November 11, 2014 at 8:16 pmKlewso: your turn of phrase constantly amuses and delights me, your latest particularly. Keep up the good work inspector
CML
November 12, 2014 at 2:02 am@ James O – Sorry about including Malaysia. Think I knew that wasn’t quite right, but temporarily forgot Belgium!
Heard on Lateline tonight that Putin was reported (in China) as saying that the Ukrainian government troops shot down M17. Of course that didn’t stop our esteemed PM from calling for Putin to apologise to the families of the victims, and provide compensation!
For something Russia did NOT do? Some claim!!
AR
November 12, 2014 at 7:07 amAs JO’N & many others have pointed out since MH17 was downed, the amerikans refusal to release their geostat data is a classic case of the dog that didn’t bark.
Does even the most abject RWNJ apologist (hi OneHand!)imagine that, had they anything that could even suggest to the tendentiously mendacious of mudorc’s minions(nods again to OneHand)a skerrick of a hint that could damage Putin they’d not have released it to the sound of trumpets?
As for MM’s poltroonish backdown, hey wottaya expect from someone who abandons a pregnant girlfriend and threatens student rivals?
The Kredlinator obviously wrote out this spiel and forced him to memorise it until letter perfect.
After all it’s far more words than he could manage out his own mouth/mind (assuming that he he even has the latter).
James O'Neill
November 12, 2014 at 8:59 amAccording to this morning’s SMH Abbott told Putin that “Australia was in possession of information suggesting that MH17 was destroyed by a missile from a launcher that had come out of Russia, was fired from inside Eastern Ukraine and then returned to Russia.”
This is amazing. The Dutch, who are in charge of the investigation, as recently as last week denied having any idea as to who fired the missile, or even if that was the explanation. If Abbott indeed has the answers, he should tell the Dutch.
The truth is more likely to be that Abbott is once again speaking without engaging his brain, grandstanding, or most likely, once again simply lying. For all his professed concern with the victims it seems that perceived domestic political advantage trumps all, including the truth.