White Men Are a World Wide Problem

Finance Ministers Karl-Heinz Grasser of Austria (L), Peer Steinbrueck of Germany (C) and Giulio Tremonti of Italy laugh during a photo call at a G8 Finance Ministers' meeting in Moscow February 11, 2006.

MOSCOW, Feb. 11 (Xinhuanet) -- The finance ministers of the Group of Eight (G8) leading industrialized nations pledged action on Saturday to improve stability of the energy markets at a meeting in Moscow where energy security took center stage.

The finance ministers, who gathered in the Russian capital for a two-day meeting, reviewed the global energy outlook and agreed that "market mechanisms are vital to the effective functioning of the global energy system," they said in a statement issued after the meeting.

"In order to improve the smooth functioning and stability of markets, we agreed to take forward work on enhancing the global energy policy dialogue between oil producing and consuming countries and the private sector," the statement said.

Russia, which took over the rotating G8 presidency at the start of the new year, has declared energy security a priority during its term. The ministers welcomed the decision to focus on energy security for the G8 summit in St. Petersburg.

Russia is the world's second largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia and also provides about a quarter of the natural gas consumed in the European Union. The country has seen its state coffers swell at a time when rising demand has doubled oil prices.

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