Leaders of the G8 states showed a unified approach to global economy issues during their first discussion at the summit in Canada, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said.
The two-day G8 summit began in Huntsville on Friday. It will be followed on Saturday by a G20 summit in Toronto, which will finish on June 27. Increasing state debt and budget deficits were among the first issues on the G8 summit's agenda.
"All participants of the discussion demonstrated mutual understanding on the problems of global economy," Merkel said after the discussion.
"I have made it clear that we need sustainable growth, and that growth and clever austerity measures don't have to be contradictions," she added.
The leaders also planned to discuss the future activities of world financial institutions and the economic situation in the eurozone, a Russian Finance Ministry official, Andrei Bokarev, said earlier on Friday. Talks also focused on the crisis in Greece and the recent decision to establish a stabilization fund to support EU countries experiencing economic difficulties.
HUNTSVILLE, June 25 (RIA Novosti)
