World powers tackle Syrian crisis, economic issues at G20 summit -...

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U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday he and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shared the view that chemical weapons use in Syria was a violation of international law that must be addressed.

Obama and Abe met on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in St. Petersburg as Washington sought to rally international support for a U.S. military strike on Syrian targets.

In turn, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is doubtful that world leaders can agree on what to do about Syria's civil war, despite frenzied diplomatic efforts following a chemical weapons attack.

Merkel told reporters at a summit of the Group of 20 leading world economies that because of disagreement over who was responsible for the poison gas attack last month, "I do not believe yet that we will reach a joint position."

The United States and France are trying to rally international support at the G-20 summit for a possible military intervention against Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime over the chemical attack.

Merkel insisted that Germany wouldn't get involved militarily, but could provide humanitarian aid and political support.

In this regard, Europe's top officials warned against a military response in Syria, aligning themselves more closely with Russian President Vladimir Putin than President Barack Obama in how best to respond to the chemical attack in the Syrian civil war.

While describing the Aug. 21 attack near Damascus, in which an estimated 1,400 people died, as "abhorrent" and a crime against humanity, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said a military strike would not help resolve the crisis.

"Only a political solution can end the terrible bloodshed, grave violations of human rights and the far-reaching destruction of Syria," Van Rompuy said.

On the economic level:

Leaders of the BRICS group of emerging economies expressed concern on Thursday during talks at a Group of 20 summit that a military strike on Syria could hurt the world economy, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said.

"It was noted within BRICS dialogue that among the factors that could negatively affect the global economic situation are the consequences of the eventual foreign intervention into Syrian affairs. Such consequences can have an extremely negative effect on global economy," Dmitry Peskov said.

The BRICS group includes China, Russia, Brazil, India and South Africa.

This as Russia and China warned that the end of the U.S. Federal Reserve's bond-buying program could have a profound impact on the global economy and urged caution.

Speaking ahead of the start of the Group of 20 summit, host Russia and China, the world's second largest economy, made clear their concerns about the widely expected 'tapering' of the Fed's multi-billion dollar monetary stimulus policy.

Zhu Guangyao, China's deputy finance minister, urged the United States to be "mindful of the spillover effects and work to contribute to the stability of the global financial markets and the steady recovery of the global economy."

For his part, Chairman Ben Bernanke triggered a sell-off in emerging market currencies, stocks and bonds and a flight to the dollar when he in May raised the possibility of winding down the Federal Reserve's $85 billion per month bond-buying program.

The Fed is widely expected this month to take its first steps to reduce the extraordinary monetary stimulus, with potentially huge implications for a global financial system that has come to depend on a cheap and abundant supply of dollars.

India also expressed concern about the end of the monetary stimulus program. Arvind Mayaram, economic affairs secretary at India's ministry of finance said: "I think there should be a very strong statement on the G20 having a consensus on the concern about the spillover effects.