Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said the US was planning to work closer with France in the Middle East amid growing fears the "Islamic State" (IS) terrorist organization was behind Friday night's attacks in Paris.
"There is going to have to be an intensification of our efforts," he said on "This Week," a Sunday political talk show on ABC.
Rhodes emphasized efforts the two countries would take to combat extremism in the Middle East, and in particular in Syria, as the Paris attacks once again put the focus on the need to defeat IS.
"First of all, we're clearly going to work very closely with the French in terms of intelligence sharing, also in terms of their military response inside of Syria," Rhodes said.
"We stand ready to do whatever is necessary to support France in this time of tragedy," he added.
Obama vows to defeat IS
His interview was broadcast the same day world leaders, including US President Barack Obama, met at the G-20 Summit in Turkey . Although the summit was intended to address economic and trade issues, the pall of the Paris attacks lingered over the meeting, and many leaders, including Obama, took the time to address the crisis in the Middle East and the need to ramp up security measures.
"We stand in solidarity with France in hunting down the perpetrators of this crime and bringing them to justice," Obama said, adding that intended to "redouble" efforts to destroy IS.
Other world leaders, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, condemned the violence in Paris and called for unity in the face of extremism.
"We are confronted with collective terrorism activity around the world as terrorism does not recognize any religion, any race, any nation or any country," Erdogan said.
On October 10, the Turkish capital Ankara experienced its own terrorist attack when twin bombs went off at a central train station, killing more than 100 people.

blc/sgb (AFP, dpa)