Obama vows to eliminate IS
US President Barack Obama yesterday vowed to step up efforts to eliminate Islamic State and prevent more attacks like those in Paris, while urging Russia's Vladimir Putin to focus on combating the jihadist group in Syria.
A White House official said Obama and Putin agreed in a 35-minute meeting on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Turkey on the need for a political transition in Syria, saying events in Paris had made it all the more urgent.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. The two-day summit brings Obama and fellow world leaders just 500 km from Syria, whose 4-1/2-year conflict has transformed Islamic State into a global security threat and spawned Europe's largest migration flows since World War Two.
Obama described Friday's killing of at least 129 people in Paris, claimed by the militant group, as an attack on the civilised world and said the United States would work with France to hunt down those responsible.
"The skies have been darkened by the horrific attacks that took place in Paris just a day and a half ago," Obama said.
"We will redouble our efforts, working with other members of the coalition, to bring about a peaceful transition in Syria and to eliminate Daesh as a force that can create so much pain and suffering for people in Paris, in Ankara, and in other parts of the globe," he said, using the Arabic acronym for Islamic State.
Obama huddled with Putin during a working lunch and the two agreed on the need for a Syrian-led transition including UN-mediated talks, the White House official said.
Putin and Obama talked "extensively", Russian news agencies cited top Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov as saying.
"Strategic objectives relating to the fight against the Islamic State are, in principle, very similar, but there are differences on the tactics side," he said.
Their meeting builds on progress in Vienna, where foreign ministers on Saturday outlined a plan for a political process in Syria leading to elections within two years, although differences over Assad's fate remain.
The United States, Turkey and their allies want Assad out. Russia, Iran oppose that.
The Paris attacks again demonstrated how Islamic State poses a threat far beyond its strongholds in Syria and Iraq.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he welcomed the renewed sense of urgency to find a solution to the war in Syria after the Paris attacks, adding the world had a "rare moment" of diplomatic opportunity to end the violence.
Obama wants to coax other European and Middle Eastern countries into more tangible steps to show their military commitment and was due to hold a bilateral meeting with Saudi Arabia's King Salman. Last month, the two leaders affirmed the need to cooperate against Islamic State.
Obama said he also discussed in a meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan coordinating efforts to fortify the border with Syria, which Islamic State has used to smuggle supplies and foreign fighters.
It remains to be seen, however, whether Washington 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 Paris carnage also poses a major challenge for Europe, with populist leaders rushing to demand an end to an influx of refugees and migrants from the Middle East and Africa.
In a diplomatic coup for Europe and for Turkey, the G20 leaders will agree that migration is a global problem that must be addressed in a coordinated way, according to a draft communique seen by Reuters, although it has yet to be accepted by all and is due to be published today.
Europe and Turkey, the most-heavily hit by the crisis, had been pushing for the G20 to recognise the issue as a global problem and help to deal with it financially, despite opposition from China, India and Russia. A million migrants from the Middle East and Africa are expected to come to Europe this year alone.
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