A final decision on Australia joining the fight against Islamic State in Syria may not be made until late September, after the prime minister, Tony Abbott, meets with US president Barack Obama.
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The revelation comes a week after Australia’s commander of joint operations in the Middle East said that commencing air strikes in Syria would not be a “game changer”.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Wednesday said the Australians have every reason to face the future “with confidence”, noting the global economy is not a “one-way escalator”.
That will go to the national security committee of cabinet, which will consider legal advice and the worldwide law implications of operating over Syria without the approval of the Syrian government.
“This is an absolutely evil movement, and the question is if they don’t respect the border, why should we?”
The pair is understood to have then talked about the feasibility and possibility of using Australian fighter jets to conduct air strikes in Syria.
New Zealand and Australia were both involved in training troops in neighbouring Iraq. “There are extraordinary capital flows around the world at the moment, in part linked to speculation about the US Federal Reserve increasing rates”.
“It’s a combined effort that allows us to target and to track and to follow…so that no one (in IS) can seek a safe zone”, Mr Berry told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.
Fairfax reports that government circles say Abbott has long been keen fight the IS in the Middle East.
About 120 Australians are known to be fighting with the group and about 30 have been killed.
She affirmed the US had requested that Australia bolster air strikes and complete knowledge observation, surveillance and air refueling in Syria’s outskirt regions. “Frankly, you’ve got to see through the volatility and look at the fundamentals and the fundamentals are Australian companies are profitable, they’re well run and Australia is in a very good position for the future”, Mr Hockey said.
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“We are not going to rush into this”.
