Obama: World must not give in to fear

"It's absolutely vital for every country, every leader, to send a signal that the viciousness of a handful of killers does not stop the world from doing vital business," US President Barack Obama said on Sunday in Kuala Lumpur.

He was ending a nine-day trip to international summits in Turkey and Asia that was clouded by the Paris terrorist attacks and threats that prompted a lockdown in Brussels. The jihadi attacks in Paris resulted in the death of 130 people.

The perpetrators of the Paris attacks were not "masterminds," but rather "a bunch of killers with good social media," Obama said at the East Asia Summit in Malaysia.

The US president insisted that citizens must not succumb to fear, urging world leaders not to abandon the climate summit in Paris.

"Destroying (Islamic State) is not only a realistic goal, we're going to get it done," he told a news conference in Kuala Lumpur.

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian also said IS must be destroyed at all costs.

"We must annihilate Islamic State worldwide ... and we must destroy Islamic State on its own territory," Le Drian said, speaking on Sunday morning news shows. "That's the only possible direction."

France has intensified its aerial bombing in Syria and Le Drian said French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, which has been sent to help operations against IS militants in Syria, will be "operational" from Monday and "ready to act."

Ban Ki-moon calls for more cooperation

On Sunday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the United States and Russia to cooperate in rooting out terrorism. He said he counted on their support to wipe out a common enemy, adding that he would present a comprehensive plan to fight extremism and violence early next year.

"All these terrorists and ideology extremists should be defeated in the name of humanity," Ban stated during a meeting in Malaysia with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at the annual East Asia Summit.

The Russian prime minister and the US president separately called on all countries to coordinate and fight "Islamic State."

Obama said it "would be helpful" if Russia directed its focus on dealing with the "Islamic State" and expressed his hope that Moscow would agree to a leadership transition in Syria that involves President Bashar al-Assad stepping down.

Russia and Iran have been Assad's strongest foreign supporters during Syria's civil war. But the United States, its Gulf allies and Turkey have insisted he should step down.

das/sms (Reuters, AFP)