G20 seeks 'urgent action' from US on budget impasse

Washington (AFP) - Finance chiefs of the G20 on Friday called for Washington to quickly resolve the political paralysis over its budget and debt ceiling.

"The US needs to take urgent action to address short-term fiscal uncertainties," the group of leading economies said in a statement.

Meeting in Washington, the finance ministers and central bankers of the economic powers warned that there were still risks to global economic growth, and that many countries faced "unacceptably high unemployment."

Asked about the G20 discussions, Anton Siluanov, the Russian finance minister whose country holds the presidency of the group this year, said they were mostly optimistic about the US reaching a timely solution to the problem, which he said impacts other countries.

"We wish for this crisis to be resolved as soon as possible," he said in a press conference.

"We trust that the administration and Congress will arrive at a mutually acceptable solution."