G20 meets to discuss eurozone crisis

Underlining the challenge for European policymakers, Standard and Poor's cut Spain's long-term credit rating, citing the country's high unemployment, tightening credit and high private sector debt.

"This meeting takes place in a context where the absolute priority for the success of the G20 is to find the elements for the stability of the eurozone," a source at the French finance ministry said.

French and German officials are battling to flesh out the bones of a crisis resolution plan in time for a European Union summit on October 23.

Fears about the damage a default by Greece - and possibly others - could inflict on the financial system have driven a confidence-sapping bout of market volatility since late July, with global stocks falling 17 percent from their 2011 high in May.

With impatience growing over the crisis, and its implications for the rest of the world, finance chiefs from outside the bloc are expected to speak frankly.

"This meeting is an important staging point before (a G20 summit in) Cannes and a valuable opportunity to put pressure on the eurozone," said a non-eurozone G20 delegate.

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty set the tone late on Thursday, telling reporters before leaving Ottawa that eurozone actions were short of what is needed.

Japan would urge its European partners to support the continent's banks, Finance Minister Jun Azumi said.