He said the USA and Turkey will redouble efforts to resolve Syria’s civil war.
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In addition to the Paris attacks, IS has been blamed for two bombings in Turkey this year that killed roughly 130 people. He said the US agreed with French President Francois Hollande’s assertion the attack was an “act of war”.
Obama’s visit to Turkey for a summit of global leaders gained fresh urgency Friday as nations scrambled to respond to the massacre in Paris.
“Those who think that they can terrorize the people of France or the values that they stand for are wrong”, Obama said in a hastily convened appearance before reporters at the White House.
The attacks in France, which French authorities say were perpetrated by ISIS, provided another reminder to the leaders of the world’s largest economies gathering in Turkey of the unsafe spread of extremist ideology. Before the Paris attacks, aides to Obama had expressed hope for what they called “incremental” movement during the president’s discussions, but they cautioned that negotiations would need to continue beyond the president’s trip.
In Iraq, 18 strikes hit near six cities, including near Sinjar, where the United States is backing up a Kurdish offensive against Islamic State. The seaside resort sits just a few hundred miles from the Syrian border.
Among the other countries attending are Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. There were also no immediate changes in his plans to travel to Paris in two weeks for a high-stakes climate conference, a meeting of world leaders that will require an enormous security presence.
US officials have played down prospects for an imminent breakthrough to quell Syria’s civil war and defeat the militants that have taken advantage of the chaos.
More 250,000 people have been killed in the clashes between rebels and forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad.
While Erdogan shares Obama’s desire to get Assad out of power in Syria, the two leaders have disagreed over tactics.
Erdogan has been frustrated by Obama’s willingness to use military force against the Islamic State, but not against Assad. The US, meanwhile, was irked by Erdogan’s reluctance to join the campaign against the Islamic State, though Turkey eventually made a decision to start bombing the militants this summer and also allowed the U.S.to launch its own airstrikes from key bases in the county.
The President is expected to meet allies and adversaries alike, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose efforts in Syria have forced the administration to retool its strategy for combatting ISIS. The slight optimism U.
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It remains to be seen, however, whether the U.S. itself has an appetite for much deeper involvement after already stepping up air strikes and committing small numbers of special operations troops to northern Syria to advise opposition forces in the fight against Islamic State. The 2015 G-20 Leaders Summit is held near the T…
