G20 urges US to address debt ceiling issues as soon as possible

Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 (G20) major economies in the world on Friday urged the United States to address debt ceiling issues as soon as possible.

Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said at a news conference that G20 officials had discussed debt ceiling and budget issues in the United States, which were in a very difficult situation, during the two-day meetings on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Annual Meetings.

"The U.S. needs to take urgent actions to address short-term fiscal uncertainties," said a communique issued after the G20 officials wrapped up their discussions.

Siluanov said U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew left the G20 meetings early for the U.S. budget negotiations and he hoped U.S. Congress would "settle this uncertainty" in a few days.

Lew has told Congress that the federal government will reach its debt ceiling of 16.7 trillion U.S. dollars by Oct. 17, and that failure to raise it would lead to "catastrophic" default.

The IMF chief Christine Lagarde warned Thursday that if U.S. Congress failed to raise the debt ceiling, it would seriously damage both the U.S. economy and the global economy.

Siluanov also urged U.S. Congress to immediately ratify the 2010 IMF Quota and Governance Reform, a package which included a shift in quotas to dynamic emerging markets and under-represented countries, and a proposed amendment to reform the executive board.

The G20 members agreed to finalize a new quota formula and complete the 15th General Quota Review by January 2014, said the communique.