Obama likely to discuss Syria with leaders at G20 meeting

Reuters
U.S. President Barack Obama leaves the stage after delivering remarks at an Organizing for Action event in Washington November 9, 2015. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas - RTS6842

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will discuss the crisis in Syria with U.S. allies during the upcoming G20 meeting, a White House spokesman said on Tuesday. "It'd be impossible to travel all the way over there and not spend some time thinking about and talking about our ongoing effort to degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL. So I would anticipate that would be part of the President's visit," said White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest, using a common acronym for Islamic State, the militant group active in Syria. He added that many countries participating in the Group of 20 economies summit in Turkey next week are also part of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State. (Reporting by Lisa Lambert and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)