World leaders pressed for response to Paris attacks

Numerous meetings about next steps in Syria and the Islamic State campaign are being scheduled on the sidelines of the G20 summit at Antalya

Pressed for a strong answer to the Islamic State group's assault on Paris, the world's top industrial and developing nations are set to outline their coordinated response to what President Barack Obama has described as an "attack on the civilised world."

The leaders of the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations were wrapping up their two-day summit in Turkey today against the backdrop of heavy French bombardment of the Islamic State's stronghold in Iraq. The bombings marked a significant escalation of France's role in the fight against the extremist group.

Numerous meetings about next steps in Syria and the Islamic State campaign were being scheduled on the sidelines of the summit at the Turkish seaside resort of Antalya.
 

Obama was to huddle with European leaders from France, Britain, Germany and Italy. French President Francois Hollande skipped the summit to stay home and deal with the aftermath of the attacks, but Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius planned to attend the meeting with the US president.

Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin, a key player in ending the conflict in Syria that created a vacuum for the Islamic State, sat down for 35 minutes yesterday to discuss the latest diplomatic initiatives. Putin was scheduled to meet separately today with British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Putin launched an air campaign in Syria a month-and-half ago with the Islamic State as the top declared target. The US and its allies, however, have accused Moscow of focusing on other rebel groups in a bid to shore up Syria's leader Bashar Assad, whom the West sees as the main cause of the Syrian conflict and the chief obstacle to peace.