Quotes from Leadership in St. Petersburg, Russia
Following are key quotes reported from leaders at the close of a G-20 summit in St. Petersburg, courtesy of Reuters.
RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN
“We achieved a consensus on the need to pursue policies that support economic growth while confirming medium-term national fiscal consolidation strategies.”
“The situation in the global economy looks better now than it did five years ago. Economic growth is recovering, but risks of course are still very, very great.”
“That’s why, since the start of our G20 presidency we have set our tasks as stimulating growth, creating new jobs – above all by encouraging investment, effective regulation and increasing confidence in markets.”
BRITISH PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON
“I thought at the meeting last night, those people, including the Turks, the Saudi Arabians, the Americans, the British, the Canadians, the French, who made the arguments about the taboo of chemical weapons, about the importance of the world responding, I thought we had by far the better of the argument.”
“It’s better with a UN Security Council resolution but you cannot rule out taking action if you cannot get one. I think we should have learned from some of the genocides we have seen in our world that there is an imperative for a line to be drawn and that may well happen again in the future.”
Asked whether any military action against Syria would be illegal if it was not backed by the U.N. Security Council:
“If we’re saying there can only be a response if the U.N. Security Council votes positively, we are in fact contracting our foreign policy, our morality, to the potential of a Russian veto. I think that is a very misguided approach.”
GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL
“The general global economic situation is seen generally as fragile.”
“We have reached a success in fighting protectionism, so far, as the standstill-agreement was prolonged about two years. This is a good signal, I think. also a good signal is the agreement on regulation of shadow-banks.”
“We have agreed a roadmap about oversight and regulation.”
SPANISH PRIME MINISTER MARIANO RAJOY
“It’s important that the U.N. Security Council assumes its responsibility under international rules and beyond that what we want is a political and negotiated solution.
“Evidently something must be done and I hope something is done, that’s Spain’s position.”
ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER ENRICO LETTA
“We consider it is essential to maintain a system of alliances in which the transatlantic relationship remains one of the lynchpins.”
“Over the past few hours we’ve been working to ensure that the difference of opinion that exists over the instruments to be used in applying international law does not become a difference which wrecks the transtlantic relationship – a relationship which we consider fundamental, one which has always been one of the mainstays of our foreign policy and one which I want to reconfirm today.”
“We are working and we will continue to work to reinforce our relationship with the United States and we do not want to see the return of the situation of a few years ago with all the problems that caused.”
IMF MANAGING DIRECTOR CHRISTINE LAGARDE
“It is also right that monetary policy remain supportive where appropriate. I am pleased that the G-20 recognizes the need to ensure that exit from unconventional monetary policy, when it comes, should be orderly and clearly communicated.”
“Both advanced economies and emerging markets will have to address their domestic challenges in order for spillovers to be effectively managed. The IMF will continue to engage in these areas given their significant implications for the global economy.”
“There’s a readjustment and there is a repricing of assets, there is no question about it. There’s some currency valuation as well and it only goes to show two things: one is all the consequences of the unconventional monetary policy and tapering from such policies have to be considered and number 2: all countries have to do something about it in terms of anticipation and preventing the unfolding of potential crisis. We’re not at this sort of crisis, we certainly hope that it could be avoided and it should be avoidable if countries do what they have to do.”
FRENCH FINANCE MINISTER PIERRE MOSCOVICI
“On growth and economics it was a good meeting here in St Petersburg. We could consolidate that we decided before to give the priority to growth taking into account that we need to consolidate fiscally. But the priority is growth in order to create jobs … especially for the youth.”
“The second point we made a good progress here was to fight against tax evasion specially automatically exchange the information. The third one we decided that we would regulate so called shadow banking. The banking sector is regulated and we need to do the so with shadow banking. We found a good consensus we are satisfied with the final communique to which we contributed.”
