Early Sunday morning, President Obama arrived in Antalya, Turkey for the two-day G-20 Summit, a meeting among world leaders to discuss strategies for sustainable global economic growth.
After meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, President Obama spoke about the summit in light of the terrorist attacks in Paris:
“Traditionally, the G20 has been a forum primarily to discuss important economic issues facing the globe. But as President Erdogan noted, the skies have been darkened by the horrific attacks that took place in Paris just a day and a half ago. As was true with the terrible attacks that took place in Ankara, the killing of innocent people based on a twisted ideology is an attack not just on France, not just on Turkey, but it’s an attack on the civilized world. And as we, I’m sure, each said to President Hollande and the French people, we stand in solidarity with them in hunting down the perpetrators of this crime and bringing them to justice.”
Members of the summit then observed a moment of silence for the victims of the attacks.
On Monday, the President held a press conference where he discussed the fight against ISIL and the need to welcome Syrian refugees while also ensuring security.
“Here at the G-20, our nations have sent an unmistake message — that we are united against this threat. ISIL is the face of evil. Our goal, as I've said many times, is to degrade and ultimately destroy this barbaric terrorist organization. As I outlined this fall at the United Nations, we have a comprehensive strategy using all elements of our power, military intelligence, economic development, and the strength of our communities. We have always understood that this will be a long-term campaign. There will be setbacks and there will be successes. The terrible events in Paris were obviously a terrible and sickening setback. Even as we grieve with our French friends, however, we can't lose sight that there is progress being made.”
Watch here:
"The attacks in Paris remind us that it will not be enough to defeat ISIL in Syria and Iraq alone." —@POTUS https://t.co/Xs4fRRBaGp
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) November 16, 2015
Melanie Garunay is the Associate Director for Digital Outbound for the Office of Digital Strategy.
