Admitting he supported Australia's involvement in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Mr Abbott said we should nevertheless learn the lessons from the interventions in those two conflicts.

Mr Abbott described the chemical attacks that killed hundreds of Syrians as an ''abomination'', but he suggested there was little the Australian military could do to help.

''Should any action be taken, it will be taken by countries with the capability to do so, and Australia is not one of those,'' Mr Abbott said.

''We don't have ready access to the kind of weaponry that apparently is possibly going to be involved, should anything be done.''

Mr Abbott appeared to rebuke Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who says Australia can play a significant role in the Syrian crisis as president of the United Nations Security Council from September.