Portugal asked Mexico on Saturday to tell fellow G20 members next week that the United States should offer financial help to resolve the euro zone sovereign debt crisis, describing it as a systemic and global problem, a Portuguese government source said.

Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho asked Mexican President Felipe Calderon to convey the message during the G20 meeting in Cannes next week, the source told reporters after the two leaders met at the Ibero-American summit in Paraguay.

The crisis isn't in the euro zone. It is a systemic and global crisis and we hope that other big G20 countries intervene, the source told reporters in the capital Asuncion, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The source added that Washington should help resolve the crisis by boosting trade and also with financial help.

No one from Calderon's delegation in Asuncion could immediately be reached for comment.

Financial markets rallied strongly this week after European leaders hammered out a deal to recapitalize their banks, boost the firepower of a euro zone rescue fund, and impose hefty losses on holders of Greek debt.

However, economic analysts quickly warned that details of the rescue could still take weeks or even months to work out.

Portugal is suffering a deepening recession as it implements painful austerity measures under a 78-billion-euro ($110.3-billion) EU/IMF bailout.

(Reporting by Guido Nejamkis; Writing by Helen Popper; Editing by Paul Simao)

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