G8 finance ministers yesterday wrapped up their Moscow meeting with a joint statement warning that volatile energy prices threaten prospects for solid world economic growth this year.
"Overall global growth remains solid and this is expected to continue in 2006. Risks remain, including high and volatile energy prices," the final statement released in Moscow read.
Concerns over high oil prices and the reliability of world energy supplies dominated a tightly secured meeting of the finance chiefs at a Moscow hotel, hosted by Russia for the first time.
High oil and gas prices have delivered a windfall to Russia, the world's second biggest oil exporter, giving it greater economic clout than in the past.
Russia's G8 partners -- the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US -- were deeply concerned when Moscow turned off gas supplies to Ukraine last month in a bid to push through sharply higher prices.
"Market mechanisms are vital to the effective functioning of the global energy system," the final statement said.
Russia demanded a more than four-fold increase in natural gas prices from Ukraine last year and briefly cut off supplies in January when Kiev refused, complaining that the demand was politically motivated.
Moscow, however, may seize on the G8 declaration as support for its argument that Ukraine should pay market prices for gas imported from and until now subsidized by Russia.
In their final communique, the G8 ministers also ccalled for aid to developing countries battling the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu just days after the virus spread to Africa for the first time.
"We call on the donor community to to provide financial support to poor countries fighting the epidemic," it said.
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