Obama, Putin agree on need for political transition, cease-fire in Syria
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Sunday joined other world leaders at the 10th summit of the Group of Twenty (G20) in Turkey, as the world's 20 most powerful economies agreed to step up border controls and aviation security in the wake of the Paris assaults. [Special coverage]
The heads of the G20 condemned the attacks claimed by the Islamic State (IS) as "heinous" and said they remained united in fighting terrorism, according to the draft document, Reuters reported.
The death toll from the Friday assaults stands at 129, with more than 300 injured after gunmen and suicide attackers raided restaurants, a concert hall and a soccer stadium.
Xi condemned the assaults as "barbaric acts."
U.S. President Barack Obama described the killings in Paris as an attack on the civilized world and said the U.S. would work with France to hunt down those responsible and bring them to justice.
The U.S. also plans to work with France to intensify air strikes against IS, U.S. Deputy National security adviser Ben Rhodes said on Sunday.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said recent attacks in Paris, Ankara and elsewhere show the world is facing a collective security threat and world leaders meeting in Turkey will send a strong message on the fight against terrorism,
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said talks on Syria in Vienna and signals from the world's capitals after the deadly attacks in Paris show greater understanding on the joined fight against terrorism. Participants at the Vienna talks have agreed that Jordan will coordinate efforts to compile a common list of terrorist groups in Syria.
French President Francois Hollande cancelled his visit to the summit in the wake of the attacks.
Refocus efforts
Chinese observers said the terror attacks will refocus international efforts to fight against terrorism and solve the Syria crisis.
"In order to combat terrorism, the U.S. will have to redirect part of its influence from the Asia-Pacific to the Middle East," Xu Liping, a research fellow of the National Institute of International Strategy, told the Global Times, adding that promoting peaceful, stable development in Syria will be a key mission.
"However, a trust mechanism must be established between countries in order to tackle the problem. For example, the U.S. and Russia must reach a consensus on this. Also, countries should work on supervision over information flow in order to cut communication from the IS to its members in other parts of the world," he said.
Xu also said the terror attacks in Paris demonstrated a failure in Western countries' Middle East policies, in which the deterioration of the situation is a clear result of excessive intervention and a disregard of the traditions of Middle Eastern countries.
Zhao Lei, a professor from the Institute of International Strategic Studies of the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China, told the Global Times that he is worried that a growing estrangement may occur between the West and Islamic nations.
Refugee response
Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday agreed on the need for a Syria-led political transition, including UN-mediated talks, when they spoke at the G20 summit on Sunday, a White House official said.
In a 35 minute discussion, the two discussed efforts to find a solution to the conflict, which had been made more pressing by the attacks in Paris, the official said.
The president of the European Council also called for the U.S. and Russia to cooperate in fighting the IS in Syria.
"It should be our common aim to coordinate our actions against Daesh and for sure the cooperation between the U.S. and Russia is a crucial one," Donald Tusk said, referring to the Arabic acronym for IS.
World leaders have also discussed the EU's refugee crisis. According to Reuters, G20 leaders will agree on Monday that migration is a global problem that must be addressed in a coordinated way, in a diplomatic coup for Europe and Turkey.
