But he stuck to his earlier line that Russia’s devastating air campaign was targeted at “moderate” opposition groups and not Isis – in apparent support for Turkish claims – and meant to bolster President Bashar al-Assad’s government.
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Appearing together in the White House East Room, Obama and Hollande each made a statement on the current state of the effort to counter the Islamic State before taking questions from the press.
Mr Frydenberg described it as the “most serious incident between North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and Russian forces in almost half a century”.
“Russia right now is a coalition of two – Iran and Russian Federation – supporting Assad”, Obama said.
The French leader will hold talks in Paris with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday and with Putin in Moscow on Thursday, before dining with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the French capital on Sunday.
Hollande’s diplomatic efforts also suffered a blow after Turkey shot down a Russian jet, sparking a diplomatic incident between the rival powers fighting in Syria that has threatened to escalate into a wider conflict.
“Turkey, like every country, has a right to defend its territory and airspace”, he said.
In putting the onus on the French and other Europeans, the White House emphasized the longstanding sense among US officials that their allies on the other side of the ocean did not share their view of the need for action.
Obama also convened his National Security Council on Tuesday to discuss the response to the recent attack. “So I do not want to comment on the specifics”.
But it was unclear whether Obama’s words of support Tuesday would satisfy France.
“So when tragedy struck that evening, our hearts broke, too”. “But that’s not enough”.
Obama and Hollande pledged to increase airstrikes against extremist targets, take back ISIS-controlled territory in Iraq and Syria, and focus more on disrupting the terrorists’ financial networks.
“The United States and France stand united, in total solidarity, to deliver justice to these terrorists”, Obama said.
As the two leaders spoke, a joint French and American raid struck an Islamic State command center in Iraq.
And will the USA or one of the 11 other forces now involved in Syria get involved?
Both Russia and France have stepped up their aerial bombing campaigns in Syria since the attacks in Paris. He called the attacks on Paris an attack on all open societies by a ruthless enemy. “Those threatening us are threatening the Russian Federation, we must coordinate ourselves”. Obama suggested the solution hinged on Assad “choosing not to run” in the next Syrian elections.
More than 200,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the country’s civil war and there is evidence the Assad regime has used chemical weapons.
The Paris attack has raised fears that terrorists might try to sneak into the West with refugees.
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Without any major new commitments to announce alongside Hollande, Obama instead touted a new intelligence sharing agreement announced last week that has helped France target ISIS sites in Raqqa, Syria.
