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6 Sep 2013
No consensus on Syria at G20 summit
FXstreet.com (Barcelona) - The release of a communiqué in the European afternoon, warning that the global economic recovery could still be derailed and urging greater efforts to increase its momentum, marked the end of the two-day G20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia. The participants could not reach an agreement however on the resolution of the Syrian conflict, the topic which dominated the talks.
Russian president Vladimir Putin, who spoke at the press conference closing the meeting, made it clear that Russia and the US remained strongly divided on the issue of the military intervention in Syria. He declared that Russia would support Syria in case of a US strike. "We stuck to our guns," Putin said when describing his talks on the matter with US president Barack Obama.
G20 leaders agreed however that it is necessary to prop up the global economic recovery to prevent it from faltering and that the most urgent issues to address are elevated unemployment, especially among young people, as well as weak growth and the fragmentation of the European financial market.
The G20 communique also noted the risks connected with "unintended side effects of extended periods of monetary easing." The normalization of such policies in advanced economies can have a negative effect on emerging markets, where it causes volatile capital flows. Therefore, advanced economies should "commit to credible and ambitious medium-term fiscal strategies."
Russian president Vladimir Putin, who spoke at the press conference closing the meeting, made it clear that Russia and the US remained strongly divided on the issue of the military intervention in Syria. He declared that Russia would support Syria in case of a US strike. "We stuck to our guns," Putin said when describing his talks on the matter with US president Barack Obama.
G20 leaders agreed however that it is necessary to prop up the global economic recovery to prevent it from faltering and that the most urgent issues to address are elevated unemployment, especially among young people, as well as weak growth and the fragmentation of the European financial market.
The G20 communique also noted the risks connected with "unintended side effects of extended periods of monetary easing." The normalization of such policies in advanced economies can have a negative effect on emerging markets, where it causes volatile capital flows. Therefore, advanced economies should "commit to credible and ambitious medium-term fiscal strategies."