
French President Nicolas Sarkozy (right) shakes hands with Chinese President Hu Jintao during arrivals for the G20 summit in Cannes, France, yesterday. Europe's debt drama dominated talks among leaders of the Group of 20 leading economies as they began the formal summit after a morning packed with bilateral meetings and a hurriedly organized meeting of eurozone officials to respond to developments in Greece - which risk fracturing Europe's common currency area and the EU itself.(Shanghai Daily Photo)
EUROPE'S debt drama dominated talks among leaders of the Group of 20 leading economies yesterday, with Greece's government facing potential collapse and European leaders admitting that the eurozone could lose its weakest member.
Chinese President Hu Jintao, US President Barack Obama and other world leaders began the formal G20 summit after a morning packed with bilateral meetings and a hurriedly organized meeting of eurozone officials to respond to developments in Greece - which risk fracturing Europe's common currency area and the EU itself.
Obama said the most important task at the G20 summit is to resolve the European financial crisis and urged European Union leaders to flesh out details of their ambitious plan to rescue Greece and stabilize financial markets.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy scrambled to save the summit he's hosting from being hijacked by the tumult in Greece.
Sarkozy said he and Obama agree the private sector should play a greater role in helping resolve the global financial crisis.
"We have found a common analysis to make the financial world contribute" to finding a solution to the crisis, Sarkozy told reporters after talks with the US president. He said he welcomed Obama's "understanding on subjects such as a tax on financial transactions."
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