Putin, Obama discuss Syria as Paris hosts anti-terror allies
Paris - Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Barack Obama held talks in Paris on Syria as world leaders took the opportunity of a United Nations climate summit to discuss the conflict that's become the global epicenter of Islamic State terrorism and Europe's refugee crisis.
Obama "expressed regret over the incident with the Russian plane" during the 30-minute meeting on Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, referring to the bomber shot down by Turkey near the Syrian border. The two leaders held detailed talks on Syria and agreed that the crisis required a political solution, Peskov said.
While Putin also held talks with China's Xi Jinping, who said they should meet regularly because "the situation in the world is changing quickly," there was no meeting between the Russian leader and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the climate summit.
French President Francois Hollande, who is hosting leaders in a city still coming to terms with the murder of 130 civilians a little more than two weeks ago, continued to forge an anti- terror alliance after winning pledges of support in Moscow and Washington last week. The race is now on to convert those promises into success against Islamic State on the battlefield, a task complicated by the tensions over Turkey's downing of the jet, the most serious clash between Russia and a North Atlantic Treaty Organization member since the Cold War.
Obama expressed his regret over the loss of a Russian pilot in the crash and reiterated U.S. support for de-escalation between Russia and Turkey, a White House official said. Obama stressed the need for military efforts to be focused on defeating Islamic State, rather than targeting moderate opposition groups in Syria, the official said.
The two presidents discussed the imperative of a cease-fire in Syria and a political resolution to the civil war, while Obama reiterated his view that Syrian President Bashar Assad should leave power as part of a transition.
As more than 140 world leaders including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Prime Minister David Cameron converged on Paris, questions remained over the broader goal in Syria beyond military strikes, Assad's future in any transition and the fate of those fleeing war toward European nations that are increasingly reluctant to take them.
Syria and its fallout ensure that "the internal political, economic and social challenges will go on to overshadow not only 2016 but will shake the very foundations of the EU" and its economic and monetary union, said Alastair Winter, chief economist at Daniel Stewart & Co. in London. "No wonder Mr. Hollande wants to tackle the problem at its root and is willing to work with anyone in doing so."
Hollande and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sissi agreed on the "absolute necessity" to combat Islamic State everywhere, as well as the need for a political transition in Syria and a national unity government in Libya "as soon as possible," Hollande's office said.
Obama, speaking alongside Xi in Paris on Monday, offered his condolences over the killing of a Chinese hostage by Islamic State and said that he'll discuss a "greater role" for China in fighting the terrorist group.
"This is a threat to all of our nations," Obama said.
International attention has turned to Syria following a wave of terrorist outrages including a bombing in Ankara, the downing of a Russian tourist jet over Egypt and an armed assault on a hotel frequented by foreigners in Mali. Even amid signs of international consensus on taking on Islamic State in its Syrian and Iraqi heartlands, the complex set of overlapping allegiances in Syria's four-year civil war make a resolution far from easy.
The picture was further muddied by last week's downing of the Russian combat plane. Turkey said the jet violated its airspace, a charge rejected by Russia which expanded economic sanctions on Monday in response to the incident.
Erdogan had suggested that he may meet with Putin in Paris, yet Peskov told reporters on Monday that a meeting wasn't on Putin's schedule. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said after talks in Brussels with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Monday that "no country can ask us to apologize because of doing our job."
Davutoglu represented Turkey at a summit on Sunday with European Union leaders. The EU reiterated its willingness to provide "an initial" 3 billion euros ($3.2 billion) to help Turkey better cope with the 2.2 million refugees it already hosts, plus an easing of visa requirements, and determined that the stalled process of EU accession for Turkey be "re- energized."
In return, Turkey committed to "bring order" to the flow of migrants, to clamp down on traffickers bringing people to Europe via its territory and to accept a system of returning illegal migrants.
Both sides agreed to closer cooperation on foreign and security policy given "the rising threat of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations," according to the meeting's conclusions.
"We must have a cooperation with Turkey to fight against trafficking, to mobilize against terrorism -- and we need to do so -- and to find a solution for Syria," Hollande told reporters in Brussels late Sunday.
In Germany, where the authorities are struggling to cope with the influx of an anticipated 1 million asylum seekers this year, Merkel's government will this week seek a parliamentary mandate for a military mission that will include Tornado reconnaissance jets, satellite data and a frigate in support of France. In the United Kingdom, Cameron is preparing to ask lawmakers as soon as this week to approve bombing over Syria after a previous attempt in 2013 ended in parliamentary defeat.
Hollande's anti-terror alliance, while understandable, is only one part of the equation for resolving the Syrian conflict, according to Jan Techau, director of Carnegie Europe in Brussels.
"What's the longer-term political goal this serves?" Techau said. "I can see how it has a purpose and the Europeans don't want to look weak. But I think they'll only look strong if they have a political strategy."
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Sink reported from Washington. Bloomberg contributors: Patrick Donahue, Alexei Anishchuk, Helene Fouquet, Gregory Viscusi and Ian Wishart.
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