Russia's ambassador in Canberra has attacked the West's track record in toppling Middle Eastern dictators as he insisted there must be no "political strings attached" to Syria peace talks.

Ambassador Vladimir Morozov, writing on Monday in an opinion article for Fairfax Media, raised the twin spectres of Iraq and Libya as examples of where the United States, Australia and Europeans countries had erred by forcing out their autocratic rulers.

Vladimir Morozov, Russian ambassador to Australia, says that Bashar al-Assad is a necessary part of negotiations over the future shape of Syria. Credit:Andrew Meares

"We can remember Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. In both cases, it was said that if you remove the dictator, the country will prosper. The result as we can see is quite different," he said.

His remarks came as former defence minister Kevin Andrews used a column in the Australian Financial Review to call on the US and its allies to work with Russia and leave Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad in place until a viable alternative emerges.