WTO chief warns of disruption to global economy, urges restraint

GENEVA (Reuters) - The head of the World Trade Organization called on Friday for restraint and urgent dialogue within the WTO system to stop trade frictions damaging the world economy, which he said was experiencing a fragile recovery.

"Actions taken outside these collective processes greatly increase the risk of escalation in a confrontation that will have no winners, and which could quickly lead to a less stable trading system," WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo said in a statement.

"Disrupting trade flows will jeopardise the global economy at a time when economic recovery, though fragile, has been increasingly evident around the world. I again call for restraint and urgent dialogue as the best path forward to resolve these problems."

(Reporting by Tom Miles; Editing by Alison Williams)