Malcolm Turnbull has signalled Australia could send peacekeepers to Syria in the event progress is made at the G20 summit this weekend on finding a political solution to the crisis.
Turnbull told reporters in Antalya it would be desirable to source peacekeepers from Syria’s neighbours first because they would be more likely to find “greater acceptance” from the local population in the event peace was ultimately brokered – but he did not rule out Australia making a contribution.
Before the formal G20 kick-off, regional foreign ministers meeting in Vienna and the five permanent members of the UN security council – which includes Russia – agreed to support and implement a nationwide ceasefire in Syria to come into effect just as soon as representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition take initial steps towards creating a transitional governing body in the country.
The proposed ceasefire agreed in Vienna would not apply to any military actions taken against Islamic State or the Al-Nusra jihadist militia.
The roadmap supports a ceasefire and “a Syrian-led process that will, within a target of six months, establish credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governance, and set a schedule and process for drafting a new constitution”.
Free and fair elections would be held in the country within 18 months, administered under UN supervision.
Establishing a political roadmap for Syria, and intensifying collective efforts to combat violent extremism, will be a major focus of the G20 summit and the working dinner on Sunday night.
Turnbull told reporters it would be “very challenging” to broker peace in Syria given the complexity of the interests, but there were “some good signs coming out of Vienna, and there may be a role for peacekeepers”.
“The critical thing is achieving some degree of common purpose among the various parties in Syria,” Turnbull said.
“If the great powers can have a common purpose so what is happening in Syria is not a proxy war then there is a greater prospect of there being a political settlement on the ground.”
Response to Paris attacks
The prime minister has been juggling his G20 program with receiving ongoing briefings from security agencies and the national security committee of cabinet concerning Australia’s domestic threat level after the murderous Paris attacks.
The prime minister told the ABC’s Insiders program the latest advice from the agencies was the national terror threat alert level should remain at high, but the situation would be “constantly monitored.”
Turnbull also telephoned Emma Grace Parkinson – the 19-year-old Australian woman shot in the hip at the Bataclan concert hall – to establish her condition after the Paris attack.
“I did my best to cheer her up,” Turnbull told reporters. “Every parent will sympathise with the thought their child has been injured in something like this. She’s a brave girl.”
Asked whether the latest bout of terror attacks felt like a war, the prime minister replied: “There’s guns and bombs, it does look like a war.”
But he said free societies would not be cowed by terrorism. Free societies would stand up for their values and reject extremists who wanted to “establish a religious tyranny”.
Trade and security on Australia’s G20 agenda
Pursuing his G20 program throughout Saturday, Turnbull met the Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, after first calling on the summit host, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Japan hopes to build Australia’s next generation of submarines. Abe told Turnbull he wanted to “create new depths to further enhance this relationship together”.
Turnbull referenced the “shared values” between Australia and Japan and the strategic links as being important to the security of the Asia Pacific region.
“It is a matter of record our two countries are very good friends with common values and strong shared interests and we have a special strategic partnership,” Turnbull told Abe.
“We believe, as I know you do, that a strong strategic and economic relationship between our two countries is vitally important for the prosperity and the security of our region.”
The two leaders also discussed the Paris terror attacks.
Abe said the violence was a “challenge against the values we share and values we seek to defend”. He pledged to work with Australia and the rest of the G20 grouping to intensify counter terror efforts.
Turnbull told Abe he “had the privilege of discussing these very real issues of terrorism and radicalisation with leaders of two of the world’s largest Muslim countries” – meaning his discussions in Jakarta with Indonesian president Joko Widodo late last week, and with president Erdogan in Turkey on Saturday.
The violence in France, Turnbull said, “was an attack not just on Paris and the people of France but on all peoples of all free countries in the world”.
The G20 summit kicks off formally on Sunday.
Given the events in Paris, the Antalya gathering will have a strong terrorism and security focus, will consider political options on Syria and strategies to deal with the flood of refugees displaced by the conflagration.
It is expected the US president, Barack Obama, who departed for Turkey on Saturday night, and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, will meet on the sidelines of the summit in an attempt to establish some common ground about Syria.
Turnbull will start his G20 program on Sunday with a breakfast with the Singaporean prime minister, Lee Hsien Loong.
He will then meet the European Council president, Donald Tusk, and the European Commission president, Jean Claude Juncker, to pursue Australia’s interest in a trade deal with the EU.
Turnbull laid some of the groundwork for the EU discussion during his meeting with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel in Berlin on Friday.
The conversation with the EU representatives will be followed by a meeting with representatives from the International Energy Agency – and then the official welcome and the G20 “family” photo.
Erdogan will then deliver the opening address of the summit.
Late on Sunday afternoon, Turnbull will have a bilateral discussion with the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, and potentially the French foreign minister, before going to the working dinner.
