Berlin : Germany approved yesterday a massive Greek aid package despite popular anger while the finance ministers from the Group of Seven rich nations agreed to keep a close eye on turmoil in financial markets caused by the Greek debt crisis.
Ministers held a conference call to discuss efforts to get aid to debt-stricken Greece. "The conference call covered the ongoing volatility in international financial markets. Ministers agreed to continue to monitor the situation closely," a UK official said.
Alistair Darling, still Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer or finance minister as no clear result has yet come out of Thursday's election, represented Britain on the call.
"The Chancellor underlined that it is in everyone's interest to maintain financial stability," the official said. US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner also participated in the call, but a Treasury spokesman had no immediate comment on the call's outcome.
A US Treasury official earlier had described the call as being "focused on European leaders updating the G7 fin-ance ministers and central bank governors" on Greece's debt woes. Geithner also held conference calls yesterday morning with the heads of two US market regulators, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and with Federal Reserve officials.
In Germany, the 22.4-billion euro (Dh104.7 billion) Greek aid package was approved two days before a state poll that could hinder Chancellor Angela Merkel in passing legislation so easily in future.
