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Trump Has Embraced Coalition Effort To Defeat Islamic State, Julie Bishop Says

The Foreign Minister has returned from talks in the US.
Julie Bishop says the US has not asked for extra help fighting IS in the middle east.
ROSLAN RAHMAN via Getty Images
Julie Bishop says the US has not asked for extra help fighting IS in the middle east.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop isn't ruling out a move to ramp up Australia's military involvement in the middle east.

Bishop has arrived back in Australia after attending talks in Washington with the United States-led coalition battling Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Speaking on Sunday, she said that while the US did not request further assistance from Australia it was not out of the question.

"If we were, we would of course consider it but Australia is already one of the largest contributors to this effort. We already have about 100 military personnel in the theatre taking part in airstrikes," Bishop told Sky News.

She said the Trump administration was committed to the campaign against ISIS.

"They have embraced the objectives of the coalition to defeat ISIS and they would commit more militarily in order to do so," Bishop added.

The comments come after Bishop earlier this week spoke in Washington about the progress that had been made in the fight against IS in Iraq and Syria.

She told the Global Coalition Summit that Australia continued to play a major role in the effort and had so far carried out more than 2,000 air sorties and trained 20,000 Iraqi security force personnel.

"We must ensure security gains in Iraq and Syria are lasting and that ISIS is unable to establish an enduring global network. There will be no peace in Iraq without political reconciliation or in Syria without a political solution," Bishop said at the time.

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