Obama: Skies ‘Darkened’ by ‘Horrific’ Paris Attacks

— -- ANTALYA, Turkey -- President Obama says that “the skies have been darkened by the horrific attacks that took place in Paris just a day and a half ago.”

In a somber tone, the president reflected on the attack Sunday following a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a few hours after arriving at the G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey.

The visit to Antalya – a Turkish resort on the Mediterranean Sea less than 500 miles from Syria – is part of a three-country, 10-day trip across Asia.

“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,” Obama said. “We stand in solidarity with them in hunting down the perpetrators of this crime and bringing them to justice.”

Recalling a separate bombing last month in Ankara that killed more than 100 people, Obama told Erdogan that the Turkish people have “a strong partner” in the United States, as well as other members of the international coalition fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Obama also credited Turkey for working together with the United States through their NATO alliance to confront Daesh, a substitute name used to describe ISIS.

“The discussion we had today I think was very helpful in continuing to coordinate the work that we're doing together to help fortify the borders between Syria and Turkey that allowed Daesh to operate," Obama said. "We discussed the progress that’s been made in diplomatic talks in Vienna led by our Foreign Ministers and an insistence that we will redouble our efforts working with other members of the coalition to bring about a peaceful transition in Syria and to eliminate Daesh."

Obama attends meetings in Antalya until Monday when he travels to Manila, Philippines to participate in the Asian-Pacific Economic Conference. He later travels to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for several meetings, including a town hall with the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative.