Julie Bishop indicates policy shift to strengthen Syrian regime and bolster opposition to Islamic State, as Russian backing for Assad forces rethink

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Australia is set to abandon the Abbott government’s position that the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, must step aside as part of any durable peace settlement.

The major policy shift is aimed at hastening the end of the bloody civil war in Syria, the Australian reported on Saturday. It also reflects the reality of the large-scale deployment of Russian forces and materiel in Syria, including tanks, artillery, advanced fighter and reconnaissance aircraft and more than 2,000 personnel.

The foreign minister, Julie Bishop, told the newspaper there was an emerging consensus that the Assad regime would likely be pivotal in fortifying the Syrian state and preventing further gains by the Islamic State group.

“It is evident there must be a political as well as a military solution to the conflict in Syria,” she said, noting that Australia would play its part in achieving that.

“There is an emerging view in some quarters that the only conceivable option would be a national unity government involving President Assad.”

But Bishop said the specific role and duration of President Assad’s involvement would likely be temporary.

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“The fear that a number of countries have is that if the Assad regime were either removed or collapsed, it would create a vacuum, and one might find that it was filled by an even more diabolical presence than the Assad regime,” she said.

“I don’t for a moment shy away from the comments that we have made in the past about the illegitimacy of the regime.

“President Assad unleashed chemical weapons on his own people, and the death and destruction in Syria is appalling and at unprecedented levels.

“The humanitarian crisis is creating an issue throughout the Middle East and Europe, the likes of which we’ve not seen before.

“The Assad regime has been diabolically bad for Syria, however we’re dealing with reality and the fact is we need a political solution because a military solution will not be the only answer.”

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Labor wants to hear an explanation on the plan from the government, security expert advice and the views of American and European allies before deciding its position on the move.

“We are going to be very careful before we go down that path,” the opposition leader Bill Shorten told reporters in Casino in NSW on Saturday. “I do not believe Australia should be picking sides in Syria.”

As far as Shorten could tell, there was “not a great deal to separate” the Assad regime and Islamic State.

“It’s a matter of record that Assad has been a dreadful dictator,” he said.“Labor has no time for the administration or the government of Assad.”