Washington, Jan 22 (IANS): US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed over phone the European response to the refugee crisis, the White House said.

Both leaders agreed on Thursday that the upcoming Syria donors conference in London presents an important opportunity to galvanize global efforts to address the Syrian humanitarian crisis, Xinhua cited the White House as saying in a statement.

Obama discussed with Merkel his plan to host a leader-level global refugees summit on the margins of the UN General Assembly in September to secure new commitments toward refugees worldwide and provide more comprehensive support to frontline states.

The two leaders committed to working together over the coming months to help protect the millions of people whose lives have been upturned by war.

On the Ukraine crisis, Obama and Merkel underscored their firm commitment to accelerate the full implementation of the Minsk agreements by all sides.

They also discussed ways to further bolster the robust economic relationship between Europe and the US.