UN chief thanks Turkey for hosting Syrian refugees

NEW YORK

The head of the UN on Saturday thanked Turkey for hosting more than 2 million refugees from war-torn Syria, the UN said.

Ban Ki-moon held face-to-face talks with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the southern Turkish city of Antalya. Both leaders are in the city to attend the G20 leaders summit that begins Sunday.

In a readout of the meeting, the UN spokesperson's office said Ban and Erdogan exchanged views on the way forward to resolve the Syrian conflict.

"[Ban] warmly thanked Turkey for hosting such a large number of refugees from that country," the statement said.

The Syrian civil war, now in its fifth year, has claimed more than 250,000 lives and made the country the world's single-largest source of refugees and displaced people.

Nearly 4 million Syrians are now refugees and at least 7.6 million have been internally displaced, according to UN figures.

Neighboring Turkey, which shares a 900-kilometer (560-mile) border with Syria, is now the largest refugee-hosting country in the world with more than 2 million Syrian refugees on its soil.

During the meeting, Ban and Erdogan condemned Friday's attacks in Paris that killed approximately 130 people and left more than 350 injured.

They "stressed the need for the international community to address terrorism in a determined and unified way", the UN said.

Ban also "expressed appreciation for the Turkish presidency of the G20", adding that the summit was happening "in somber times that required unity of action".

He said he would present a comprehensive plan of action against violent extremism in a few months.

Ban and Erdogan also discussed Palestine, Libya and Cyprus, as well as issues related to climate change, the UN said.