Paris attacks cast pall as Obama, world leaders head to G20

“The president’s team briefed him on the latest intelligence surrounding the attacks, and – while noting that there was no specific or credible threat to the United States -reviewed our homeland security posture to ensure we are doing everything necessary to protect the American people”, said the White House Press Office in a readout of the meeting.

President Barack Obama walks from the podium after speaking about attacks in Paris from the briefing room of the White House, on Friday, November 13, 2015, in Washington. In Antalya, Obama will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose party pulled off a surprise victory in recent elections but who faces criticism for a crackdown on media freedoms.

The leaders will gather in Turkey on the sidelines of the Group of 20 economic summit, regrouping after diplomats emerge from a second round of talks on Syria’s crisis in Vienna over the weekend.

“It’s very important – and I think the way the president looks at foreign policy is – that in addition to the meetings that take place in convention centers, that he’s engaging people, that he’s reaching out to different sectors of society that we’re visiting”, deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes.

Despite Obama’s vow to isolate Putin in retaliation for Russian aggression in Ukraine, the president agreed to meet with his longtime foe in NY earlier this year to discuss Syria.

She didn’t outright dismiss Russia’s eight-step proposal for resolving the Syrian conflict, which offers no clarity on when Mr. Assad might relinquish power.

The interplay between the two, how other leaders respond to them, and whether there is any agreement on a way forward in Syria will be a focus of summit attention. In Asia, Obama will hold his first meeting with Australia’s new prime minister.

Islamic State claimed responsibility on Saturday for the coordinated assault by gunmen and bombers that killed 127 people across Paris.

Obama’s dealings with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Syria have been even more complicated.

“I expect Putin will be on the defensive”, said Derek Chollet, who served as assistant secretary of defense for worldwide security affairs from 2012-2014.

In speeches and interviews this week, Erdogan repeated his call for a U.S.-protected safe zone in Syria, along at least part of its border with Turkey, where anti-Assad fighters could regroup and be resupplied and refugees could return to a protected area of their own country. “As we work to bring about a political solution to the broader Syrian conflict”, said Rice. Obama and Modi are likely to meet on the sidelines of the G-20 summit.