Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has appealed for a political solution to end the conflict in Syria and defeat Islamic State.

The call came as world leaders consider the future of the fight against terrorism at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit (APEC) in the Philippines.

Mr Turnbull said a solution to the conflict in Syria would not be solved by military intervention, but would require a political fix, potentially in the form of a power-sharing agreement.

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It could also mean working with brutal leaders, like current Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who is accused of extensive war crimes, to achieve progress.

Previously, the United States had strongly pushed for al-Assad’s removal, while Russia, which has increased its military efforts in Syria this month, has unofficially backed the leader.

Mr Turnbull suggested a power-sharing agreement loosely based on the structure implemented in Lebanon, which distributes power between Christian and Muslim parties.

“The approach of all the parties to a resolution in Syria has to be one undertaken in a spirit of compromise and in a spirit of pragmatism,” Mr Turnbull said, speaking from the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Cooperation Summit in the Philippines, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

“Ultimately, there have been hundreds of thousands of people killed, there have been millions of people driven out of their homes, it is a complete catastrophe … what is needed is a pragmatic settlement as quickly as possible.”

But one Middle East academic questioned said a compromise deal would be problematic due to the complexity of Syria’s population demographics.

“How could you have fair and free elections anyway, with so many people driven out of the country,” Australian National University’s Amin Saikal said.