World leaders vow vigorous response after Paris terror attacks

Shortly thereafter, Obama held an informal meeting – not initially scheduled – with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to discuss how to end the war in Syria and defeat the IS.

As world leaders were leaving for Turkey to attend the G20 summit, all hell broke loose in Paris.

In a separate statement the G20 said they would work more closely together to “suppress terrorist acts”, after gunmen and bombers from Islamic State went on a killing spree in Paris on Friday, killing 129 people and wounding more then 350 others.

“The skies have been darkened by the horrific attacks that took place in Paris”, Obama also said in his public address.

President Obama has described the Paris attacks, like those carried out in the Turkish capital Ankara last month that killed more than 100 people, as attacks on the civilised world.

Downing Street sources said the Prime Minister hopes to reassure Mr Putin that Russia’s interests will be “protected” in the transition to a new settlement in Syria after the departure of president Bashar Assad, a close ally of Moscow.

Obama and Putin – whose previous meetings have been marked by stony-faced body language – grasped hands and exchanged words, inaudible to reporters, before joining a family photo at the summit of the Group of 20 top economies.

U.S. security advisor Ben Rhodes says there are no easy answers.

He added, however, that attacks of this kind endanger the continuity of the Schengen zone for the free circulation of people around the European Community, going on to say that greater measures must be taken to strengthen the EC’s external borders.

“We have our differences with the Russians, not least because they’ve done so much to degrade the non-[IS] opposition to [Syrian President Bashar] Assad”, Mr Cameron said.

They also noted the scale of the refugee crisis, saying all states need to share the burden, including through refugee resettlement and other forms of humanitarian aid, while underscoring the importance of a political solution.

Turkey is deeply opposed to Russia’s air strikes but has received only a lukewarm reaction so far to its proposal for a safe zone free of Islamic State jihadists to be created inside Syria as a haven for refugees. Instead, they foreshadowed an expansion of steps the U.S.is already taking, namely airstrikes and train-and-equip missions for rebels inside Syria.

That was a major improvement in relations after more than a year of hostility over Russian aggression in Ukraine plus Mr Putin’s recent attacks on Syrian moderates.

“We don’t believe USA troops are the answer to the problem”, Rhodes said.

The coordinated attacks in Paris show that “it doesn’t matter if you’re for Assad or against him”, said Lavrov.

Mr Obama huddled with Mr 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.