Australia is set to play a role in better coordination of the fight against Islamic State in Syria as Malcolm Turnbull attends talks with the Russian and United States leaders in Turkey.
The G20 summit will get under way in the Turkish resort city of Antalya on Sunday afternoon, just a day after the US, Russia and other key players in the Syrian crisis met in Vienna on a way forward.
The terror attacks in Paris have motivated the leaders to work more closely to eradicate IS, also known as ISIL and Daesh, and seek a political solution in Syria.
The US, China, Russia, France and the UK - the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - have pledged to back a council resolution to empower a peacekeeping mission in some of the safer parts of Syria.
Mr Turnbull will meet with Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin and other G20 leaders on Sunday night for a working dinner focused on the Syrian crisis and countering violent extremism.
The prime minister told reporters he agreed with French President Francois Hollande, who has cancelled his G20 attendance to deal with a state of emergency, that the crisis resembled a war.
"It's guns and bombs - yes it does look like a war," Mr Turnbull said.
He said he was willing to consider a peacekeeper role for Australia, backed by a UNSC resolution on a ceasefire, but believed it was more a role for countries nearer to Syria.
"The outcome that we want is a ... transition to a government that has broad support and a restoration of peace so that order can be restored and those millions of refugees can go back to the homes they want to return to," Mr Turnbull said.
Australia's efforts are more likely to be around providing military intelligence on extremist targets and refuelling of coalition aircraft, as has been done in the Syrian conflict since September and in Iraq for a year.
US President Barack Obama said shortly after his arrival in Antalya: "We will redouble our efforts, working with other members of the coalition, to bring about a peaceful transition in Syria and to eliminate Daesh as a force that can create so much pain and suffering for people in Paris, Ankara and other parts of the globe."
The Russians want from the G20 summit a "meaningful, specific conversation" about which groups to target in Syria and how to better coordinate military efforts.
Mr Turnbull met with Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council on Sunday.
The two European leaders said planning work was under way ahead of the proposed start of formal talks on an EU-Australia free trade agreement in 2017.
They also praised Australia for its efforts in promising to resettle 12,000 refugees from the Syrian crisis.
Mr Turnbull will convey to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius Australia's condolences on the deaths of 129 people and wounding of at least 350 in the terror attacks, as well as offer support in the investigations.
The issue of Australia's next generation of submarines is also set to be discussed, capping off talks between Mr Turnbull and the German and Japanese leaders on the same subject.
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