Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has doubled down on Australia’s support for a regime change in Syria, reiterating our nation’s position that President Bashar al-Assad “lost all legitimacy as leader” when he first used chemical weapons on Syrian citizens.
Speaking on Sky News, Bishop confirmed Australia’s stance on a possible regime change in the wartorn nation, saying “Assad has no long-term position as leader,” and asked “the question is ‘how do you remove Assad?’ and ‘what does the next day look like?’”
.@JulieBishopMP says Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has lost all legitimacy as a leader. More: https://t.co/biXarro5iT pic.twitter.com/aeFe7pmOhj
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) April 9, 2017
Her comments follow America’s missile strike on a Syrian airfield, which received praise and support from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
On Saturday, Turnbull reckoned “the crimes he has committed against his own people are so enormous and, of course now, so recent it is difficult to see how a political solution can be crafted that has him with a continuing role.”
The PM also confirmed he had spoken to Defence Minister Marise Payne regarding the issue.
Bishop said the world is awaiting the results of a diplomatic mission between American Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and the Russian government regarding the crisis.
Russia’s government has propped up the Assad regime for the past several years, and has openly criticised America’s missile strike. Those two factors imply it’ll be hugely unlikely Russia has a change of heart over the current Syrian leader.
With that in mind, Bishop’s language represents a significant escalation in Australia’s stance on the matter. If it keeps up, we may find ourselves pulled even deeper into the endlessly complex crisis.
Source: Sky News.
Photo: Matt King / Getty.
