Sarkozy claims victory at G20

Seoul: French President Nicolas Sarkozy claimed his first victory as leader of the Group of 20 nations less than an hour after taking the reins from his South Korean counterpart, Lee Myung Bak.

The group’s final statement after a summit in Seoul, which cited the dangers of competitive devaluations and volatile capital flows, underscored Sarkozy’s main goal as president of the group of “updating” the global monetary order, he said in a closing press conference.

“It’s already a success that the G20 agrees that the international monetary system is a problem,” Sarkozy said. “That wasn’t always the case.”