G20 to press Europe for lasting crisis fix

World leaders were set to pile pressure on Europe at a G20 summit on Monday to outline a lasting strategy to save the euro currency after a victory for pro-bailout parties in a Greek election failed to calm financial markets.
US President Barack Obama spoke with European leaders after the Greek vote and requested a meeting with them on Monday evening, underscoring the extent of concern in Washington that the euro crisis could deepen, infecting the fragile US economy only months before an election.
He will also hold separate talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who as the leader of Europe's biggest economy, faces enormous pressure to take bold new steps to resolve a crisis that has been raging for more than two years.
Protected by Mexican navy vessels and troops on the beaches and highways, Group of 20 leaders from major industrialized and developing economies, representing more than 80 percent of world output, began a two-day meeting in this Pacific resort to prioritize growth and job creation against the backdrop of a weakening global economy.
Escalating violence in Syria and the near-collapse of a United Nations-brokered peace plan also will be in focus when Obama meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the summit on Monday. The two super powers are clashing over arming Syria and UN sanctions.
But Europe's progress toward lasting solutions for its debt crisis will be the focal point when G20 leaders hold their opening session on the global economy.
A narrow victory for the conservative New Democracy party in the Greek election on Sunday eased concerns the heavily-indebted country could exit the euro zone soon but did little to calm financial markets.
The euro fell from a one-month high against the dollar and Spanish bond yields shot above 7 percent to their highest level since the creation of the single currency in 1999.