Group of 20 divided on IMF support

PARIS, Oct. 15 (UPI) -- Six Group of 20 Nations have said Europe should be the first line of defense for shoring up the euro and containing Greece's debt crisis.

At a meeting of finance ministers in Paris ahead of an Oct. 23 meeting of the European Council, representatives from Britain, Japan, Canada, South Africa, Australia and the United States said Europe should take care of the crisis without substantial changes to the International Monetary Fund, the Financial Times reported Saturday.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner set the tone for early part of the meeting by declaring the United States unwilling to increase its contribution to the IMF.

The IMF, he said, "has very substantial, uncommitted, available financial resources." Geithner also said, "Of course, Europe as a whole has resources available to help with the financial problems."

British Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said the IMF did not need a fund dedicated to Europe's problems. "The IMF should remain an institution focused on the global economy and on supporting countries all round the world, rather than a specific vehicle to assist the Europeans," he said.

Emerging countries and Europe, however, leaned toward increased IMF assistance. Brazil's finance minister Guido Mantega said emerging countries should discuss options for boosting aid to Europe.

In Paris, officials struggled to write a communique that would sum up the feelings of the G20.

A draft of the group's statement pressured Europe to throw more financial resources at the crisis, saying there was a need for "further work to maximize the impact" of the European Financial Stability Fund, the $600 billion fund set up to help struggling European countries.

We look forward to further work to maximize the impact of the EFSF in order to address contagion," the draft statement said.