London: A split has opened up between Britain and Australia on the future of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop rejecting British Prime Minister Theresa May's demands for Assad to go, saying the rest of the world has moved on from that position.
Mrs May on Thursday local time spoke with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull by phone. The pair discussed a range of topics including Brexit, the Middle East and the two countries' contributions to fighting Islamic State. Iraqi forces are making significant advances in Mosul, Islamic State's last stronghold in Iraq.
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Julie Bishop on Syria
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says it is clear President Bashar al-Assad will be part of Syria's political resolution.
A 10 Downing Street spokeswoman said the leaders agreed on the need to create conditions for the stability of Iraq once Mosul falls.
Critically, Mrs May underlined the need for a transition in neighbouring Syria away from President Bashar al-Assad.
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But Ms Bishop, who is in London, said after discussing the issue with US Vice-President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and President Donald Trump's new National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, it was clear that Dr Assad would be part of Syria's political transition.
"Now he has lost legitimacy as a leader, he has used chemical weapons against his own people, but the realpolitik, the reality is that he will have to be part of the political solution," Ms Bishop said.
"The precondition that Assad must go has been a condition in place for some time but most countries have moved on from that and there's a recognition that President Assad, backed by Russia, will have to be part of the transition and how long he remains will be a matter of negotiation," she added.
"A precondition [that] Assad must go will only delay negotiations for a political solution and I think that's been a recognition across the coalition partners that he will be part of the transition."
Ms Bishop's remarks come after far-right French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen told a Lebanese newspaper that she hoped to rebuild ties with Dr Assad, characterising him as "the lesser of two evils".
In recent weeks, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has openly mused about whether Britain could accept Dr Assad continuing to preside over Syria.
Diplomats fear removing Dr Assad with no obvious successor could create another power vacuum in the region, as happened in Libya, which could be exploited by extremists like Islamic State as they are pushed out of Iraq.
However Mr Johnson later brought his position into line with Mrs May's following the release of an Amnesty International report detailing claims the regime killed up to 13,000 people in a series of mass hangings.
The NGO Save Our Syria warned on Thursday that the December 30 ceasefire brokered by Washington and Moscow was "fraying".
In a statement, it called on the participants in peace talks in Geneva to craft a democratic constitution that would be Syrian-led and based on an effective ceasefire.
Ms Bishop said she discussed a range of other issues with Mr Johnson, including North Korea, which recently test-fired a missile.
Ms Bishop also raised the issue of better access for Australians after Britain leaves the European Union and signalled any changes would only be made after Brexit and potentially in a free trade deal the countries are hoping to strike as soon as Britain leaves the European Union.
For as long as Britain remains inside the EU it cannot sign or even begin formal negotiations on any other trade deals.
Mrs May says she will trigger article 50, the formal process for leaving the EU, by the end of March, setting up a two-year negotiating period.
The two countries' two-way trade was valued at $27 billion in 2015/16.
British investors own more land in Australia than there is in the whole of the U.K.!
— Alexander Downer (@AusHCUK) February 21, 2017
A spokesman for Mr Turnbull said the prime ministers' phone call was a "warm conversation".
He said the pair discussed a range of common interests "including military co-operation in the Middle East and the fight against [Islamic State], Brexit and an early free trade deal, their close engagement with the US administration and the importance of the alliance."