Leaders of the world’s 20 major economies have pledged a renewed fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group, but offered little details on how the strategy would change.
The leaders are meeting in Antalya, a heavily guarded Turkish resort on the Aegean Sea coast, for a two-day summit.
Although the G20 usually focuses on economic issues, the president of host country Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has urged world leaders to prioritise the battle against ISIL, saying Friday’s assaults in Paris, claimed by ISIL, proved that the time for words was now over.
The attacks left at least 129 people dead and more than 350 others injured, 99 of them critically.
“We are confronted with a collective terrorism activity around the world. As you know, terrorism does not recognise any religion, any race, any nation, or any country,” he said.
Following his statements, US President Obama affirmed Washington’s support for Paris in the wake of the attacks, saying: “We stand in solidarity with them [France] in hunting down the perpetrators of this crime and bringing them to justice.”
The refugee crisis also dominated the agenda of the summit.
In a draft communique, leaders agreed that the crisis is a global problem that must be addressed in a coordinated way.
“We call upon all states to contribute to responding to this crisis, and share in the burdens associated with it,” it reads, according to Reuters.
The draft communique states that tackling the refugee crisis means proactive measures, “including through refugee resettlement, other forms of humanitarian admission, humanitarian aid and efforts to ensure that refugees can access services, education and livelihood opportunities”.
Source: The Punch
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