WASHINGTON, November 15 (RIA Novosti) - U.S. President George Bush hosted on Saturday a meeting with more than 20 world leaders to discuss the global financial crisis.

Speaking on Saturday morning before the G20 summit in Washington, Bush said he was pleased that at a working dinner on Friday evening the leaders expressed their support for the principles of capitalism.

"I am pleased that the leaders reaffirmed the principles behind open markets and free trade," he told reporters before the talks. "One of the dangers during a crisis such as this is that people will start implementing protectionist policies."

"This crisis has not ended," he said. "There's some progress being made but there's still a lot more work to be done."

There will be two sessions for discussions as well as a working lunch, and a joint statement will be released after the summit.

Joining G20 leaders are representatives of the United Nations and the European Union, as well as the IMF and the World Bank.

The G20 includes the Group of Eight leading industrial countries - the United States, Canada, Japan, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Russia - as well as other major countries including Brazil, China, India, South Africa, Mexico, Indonesia and South Korea.