Julie Bishop - Member for Curtin

Sky News with Kieran Gilbert

Subjects: Syria

E&OE…

PRESENTER    A short time ago Sky News chief political reporter Kieran Gilbert spoke to the Shadow Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.

JULIE BISHOP    This was not a casualty of war, this was a massacre – a mass killing of civilians. There are reports that children were being shot at blank range. It is a terrible situation and yet the Assad regime had agreed to work with the Kofi Annan peace plan, to work with Kofi Annan and to withdraw troops, to halt the violence, but this has just shown they have no commitment to that peace plan.

We must persist however because the violence must not be allowed to spread beyond Syria, it must be halted in Syria. You will appreciate that politically and geographically Syria is quite central to Middle Eastern affairs and we must ensure that this violence doesn’t spread beyond the Syrian borders and affect Lebanon and Iraq, for example.

KIERAN GILBERT    Given Russia’s veto around the UN Security Council we are unlikely to see stronger action are we?

JULIE BISHOP    Well the legal problem in a military intervention, for example, is that it wouldn’t have the backing of the UN Security Council if Russia maintains its veto. Likewise, any stronger action on the part of the United Nations will require Russia’s support and Russia has shown great reluctance, it does not support the opposition. And the situation is different from Libya. On the ground the forces are much stronger, they are much better prepared, the Opposition is less prepared so questions of what could be done on the ground are also very complex.

KIERAN GILBERT    It is complex in the sense the cultural and religious make up in that country as well, very different to other nations where they have seen the Arab uprising - a dominate minority, the Alawite regime, a sect of the Shi'ites religion dominate there - so it means the uprising is being quashed by that minority.

JULIE BISHOP    Well the minority of course, the Alawite - the offshoot of the Shi'ites, is the ruling regime - the Sunnis are the rest of the population yet the countries that are supporting the opposition, the Sunni opposition, are not those you’d expect and the countries that are supporting that Alawite minority are not those that you’d expect. So it is a very complex political, social, cultural, religious situation here. But what we must ensure is that the Assad regime recognises the international community condemns the acts of the last couple of days and will continue to isolate Syria. And economic sanctions are another avenue open to us.

KIERAN GILBERT    Julie Bishop, thanks for your time.

JULIE BISHOP    My pleasure.