Sydney  - The United Nations will stop recruiting Fijian soldiers for peace-keeping operations because of the Pacific nation's drift towards dictatorship, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Tuesday.

Rudd was speaking in a joint press conference in Canberra with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare.

Australia and Papua New Guinea are both members of the Pacific Islands Forum, which later this week is expected to expel Fiji for not setting a date for new elections.

Rudd said the UN move meant crucial remittances to Fijian military families would be cut off.

"Through our own interventions with the United Nations, and supported by New Zealand and other countries, the United Nations is now not going to engage future or new Fijian troops for new operations," Rudd said.