Malcolm Turnbull has conceded there can be no military solution to the conflict in Syria and called for “a political settlement” that included a transition from the leadership of Bashar al-Assad.

The Australian prime minister did not back away from Australian involvement in US-led airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria, but said the recently approved mission was “aimed solely at Daesh” as part of the defence of Iraq.

In his first substantive remarks about Syria since becoming prime minister, Turnbull said on Monday that Russia’s decision to begin airstrikes in Syria last week had “not been welcomed by the United States or its allies but it is a reality”.

“As far as Assad is concerned, I think it is clear that there can be no solution in Syria other than a political solution. There is no military solution in Syria. That is perfectly clear. It requires a political solution,” he said.

“As President [Barack] Obama has said, however, a key element of any political solution must be a transition from Mr Assad and from his leadership to other leadership; that is clear and that is a factor that is driven by the depth of the antagonisms against the Assad regime within Syria.

“Clearly a political solution is required, but as far as our involvement is concerned it is focused solely on Daesh and it is part of our work to defend Iraq.”

The Australian government has been repositioning itself to accept the possibility of a temporary retention of Assad as part of a political solution – a shift from its previous insistence that he must stand aside.

The UK and US have been contemplating similar positions. The British prime minister, David Cameron, has said that Assad “butchered his own people” and could not be part of Syria’s “long-term future”.

Obama has criticised Russia for failing to distinguish between Daesh figures and moderate opposition forces fighting Assad, saying this was “a recipe for disaster”.

Both Obama and Cameron considered launching airstrikes against the Assad regime in 2013 but failed to win adequate political support.

Last week, Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, told the UN general assembly in New York: “We do not believe any transition option should be rejected, all permutations of a political solution should be assessed with clear-eyed realism.”



Bishop told reporters that previous attempts to find a political solution were based on the assumption that the Assad regime would fall or Assad would be removed “but he’s still there and so the political reality is in dealing with the situation as it stands today”.

Turnbull echoed Bishop’s suggestion that the focus must now be on a political solution “because a military solution is now so complex and is not going to be the answer to stopping this bloody conflict”.

In an interview with the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday, Bishop said Russia’s intervention in Syria had “complicated the matter and changed the dynamics quite significantly” and appeared to be targeting areas where Daesh was not apparent.

Russia was acting at the invitation of Assad and appeared to be part of an effort to bolster the president’s position, she said.

Assad said in an interview on Sunday that calls for him to leave office or bow out after serving in a transitional government “mean nothing to us” and he declared that “western officials are lost, lack clarity of vision and are feeling the failure of their plots [toward Syria]”.

The extension of Australia’s airstrike campaign from Iraq to Syria was one of the final major decisions announced by Tony Abbott before he was ousted as prime minister last month. It followed a request from Obama.

In the announcement on 9 September, Abbott said the aircraft would “be targeting Daesh, not the Assad regime, evil though it is”. Australia justified the legality of the mission by citing the collective self-defence of Iraq.

Turnbull, who challenged for the leadership on 14 September, stood by that position on Monday.

“The Australian action in Syria is aimed solely at Daesh,” Turnbull said.

“We are operating as part of our work in Iraq to strike at Daesh forces that are going back to Syria or based in Syria that are fighting against, seeking to overthrow the government and other institutions in Iraq.”

A deputy leader of the Greens, Scott Ludlam, said Turnbull should immediately halt Australian bombing missions in Syria and begin work on a cooperative political solution.

“The Greens have said all along that without a clear plan, military action is just adding to the chaos in Syria,” Ludlam said.

Last month the Labor party supported the extension of Australia’s airstrikes, but also called for a parliamentary debate on the long-term strategy in the region “because the swamp of terrorism can never be drained by military means alone”.

Labor’s foreign affairs spokeswoman, Tanya Plibersek, renewed those calls last week, saying the Russian intervention made the situation “more complex”. The Labor leader, Bill Shorten, had warned the government against embracing Assad, whom he described as “a dreadful dictator”.

Turnbull made his remarks during an event in Victoria to announce a $1.3bn deal to supply the Australian defence force with new, secure vehicles. The government would buy 1,100 locally built Hawkei protected vehicles and more than 1000 trailers.

Turnbull and the defence minister, Marise Payne, said the vehicles would be manufactured at Thales Australia’s production line in Bendigo, creating 170 jobs there and another 60 jobs in Victoria.

Kevin Andrews, an Abbott supporter who was dumped as defence minister in Turnbull’s reshuffle, claimed partial credit for the decision. In a tweet, Andrews said he had been pleased to take the Hawkei submission to the cabinet’s national security committee “some months back, at which point it was approved”.