Turkish, U.S. leaders discuss transition in Syria, terrorism

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama on Sunday discussed transition in war-torn Syria as well as terrorism and the refugee crisis, ahead of a summit meeting of the Group of 20 (G20) leaders.

Obama described Turkey, a NATO member, as an important partner in the fight against the Islamic State (IS) and in efforts to eliminate the environment in which the extremist group can operate in Syria.

"We have discussed a peaceful transition in Syria" and how to eliminate the IS that has caused "so much pain and suffering" in Paris and in Ankara, Turkey's capital, the U.S. leader told reporters following his meeting with Erdogan.

At least 129 people were killed and hundreds more injured in coordinated attacks in Paris on Friday night, while twin suicide bombings on Oct. 10 killed 102 in Ankara. Both were blamed on the IS.

"These attacks are against humanity," Obama said, noting he and Erdogan discussed how to prevent the IS from continuing to be a threat and how to prevent more terror attacks.

Talking about Turkey's sheltering of more than two million Syrian refugees on its soil, Obama called it "a heavy burden."

"We have discussed what the other countries could do," he remarked.

Terrorism and the refugee crisis are set to be on the agenda of the G20 summit along with pro-growth measures for the global economy.

"We will proceed the G20 summit with the topics that were previously determined," Erdogan said. "We will assess the climate change, refugee issue, financial and economic developments during the G20 summit." Endit