MOSCOW, Feb 11: Group of Eight finance chiefs wrapped up “stormy” talks on Saturday at a hotel near Red Square, warning that wild energy prices threaten prospects for solid world economic growth in 2006.

“Overall global growth remains solid and this is expected to continue in 2006,” the G8 finance ministers said in a final communiqué released after heavily guarded, closed-door talks.

“Risks remain, including high and volatile energy prices,” the major economic powers warned.

In a bitterly cold Moscow, the Russian authorities laid on strict security for the meeting.

Oil prices and energy security dominated Russia’s first hosting of G8 policymakers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

High oil and gas prices have delivered a windfall to Russia, the world’s second biggest oil exporter, giving it greater economic clout than in the past.

Russia’s G8 partners were deeply concerned, however, when Moscow turned off natural gas supplies to Ukraine in January to push through sharply higher prices. Kiev complained the demand was politically motivated.

“On some topics the discussions were stormy,” the host, Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, told Ria Novosti news wire.

Asked to explain further in the closing news conference, Kudrin said: “Of course, the discussions between the ministers are fairly tense. It is a struggle over opinions. There is not always a complete resolution.”

As expected, there was no mention in the statement of pressure on Russia to ratify a 1991 energy charter aimed at facilitating gas flows across Europe and the former Soviet Union.

Moscow has given no date for ratification.

“At this point, Russia is still not ready to ratify the treaty,” French Finance Minister Thierry Breton said. But Breton said talks would press ahead on the treaty, which is of intense interest to Europe.

US Treasury Secretary John Snow and other ministers smiled and joked as they took a brief break from their talks to pose for photographs. But the topics for discussion were grave.

Besides energy, the G8 ministers also pondered how to combat infectious diseases, interrupt terrorist financing and inject life into bogged-down world trade talks. In their final communiqué, the G8 ministers:

— Called for aid to developing countries battling the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu just days after the virus spread to Africa for the first time. “We call on the donor community to provide financial support to poor countries fighting the epidemic,” it said.

— Pressed for more action to spark life into World Trade Organization negotiations aimed at opening up international trade. The ministers called for “significant progress” in freeing trade in agriculture, industrial products and services, including financial services.

— Vowed to beef up the fight against networks which finance terrorism. “We are committed to strengthening our systems for freezing assets, information sharing, and multilateral financial tools to disrupt criminal and financial activities,” the statement said.—AFP