Merkel warns summit cannot solve everything

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in an interview on today she expected "good results" from next week's G20 summit in London but cautioned that global leaders would not be able to solve all the world's economic problems at one meeting.

"We are talking about building a new global financial market architecture and we will not be able to finish this in London," she told the Financial Times.

"We will naturally not solve the economic crisis either, and we won't solve the issue of trade. We will definitely have to meet again."

Politicians from wealthy and emerging countries will gather in London under pressure to restore confidence and plot a course out of the worst economic slump since World War Two.

However, there are fears that disagreement between the US and Europe over the way ahead could mar the summit and further rattle nervous markets.

Merkel has been resisting US and British demands for extra spending to break the global recession, arguing that Germany has already boosted its economy sufficiently through two stimulus packages worth 81bn euros (£75bn).

Germany and France have instead been pushing for greater emphasis on stronger regulation of financial markets to guard against future meltdowns.

But Merkel, who had just finished a video conference with US President Barack Obama, played down suggestions of a transatlantic split over spending and regulation.

"I think we can achieve good results in all areas and I was very glad to hear the US president make it clear that he did not want just the one or the other, but both."

Ultimately, all countries were on the same side, she said.

"We are coming together to make joint decisions, not to compete against each other.

"We all want the same thing - to put the world economy back on its feet as fast a possible and to prevent such a crisis from happening again."