Putin would like my angry emoji: Bishop

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop insists Russian President Vladimir Putin would be delighted with her portrayal of him as a red angry faced emoji.

Opposition senators grilled Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials for 15 minutes during an estimates hearing on Thursday about an interview Ms Bishop gave to Buzzfeed in February using emojis.

Labor frontbencher Penny Wong said she did not understand the diplomatic message, querying whether it was accurate or a helpful public statement.

Ms Bishop defended her use of the emoji.

"In the case of President Putin he self describes as a hard man," she told reporters in Canberra.

"Having met President Putin I think he'd be delighted with the ... emoji that I used to describe him."

Ms Bishop said it was interesting that Labor senators had spent more time asking about her use of emojis rather than important issues such as foreign fighters.

She said emojis were a contemporary way of expressing particular views.

Earlier, Attorney-General George Brandis said the emoji was "plainly not an expression of our relationship with Russia."

"Context here is everything," he said, adding there was a variety of modes of formality or informality depending on occasion and context.

Senator Brandis later speculated it could be a reference to ideology.

He quipped the issue was the "profundity of the Labor Party's penetration of foreign policy".

Senator Wong hit back saying it was legitimate to question a public message from Australia's foreign spokeswoman about the difficult bilateral relationship with Russia.