US President briefed regularly on situation in Greece


Washington (ANA-MPA/T. Ellis) -- US President Barack Obama "continues to be briefed regularly on the situation in Greece during his daily briefings," according to a White House announcement, adding that the President was briefed on the situation in Europe and on the markets on Thursday afternoon by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council Director Larry Summers.

"Secretary Geithner and his staff are also in frequent communication with our European counterparts. The Treasury Department is monitoring this very closely," the release added.

"Last Sunday, the President spoke with Prime Minister Papandreou. He welcomed the ambitious reform program announced by the Greek authorities, as well as the significant support that was agreed to by the IMF and Eurozone members. The two leaders discussed the importance of implementation going forward," the release said, adding that "Secretary Geithner and President Obama have been in contact with European leaders on the situation in Greece throughout the past several weeks."

The White House statement further noted: "When Prime Minister Papandreou was in Washington in March, the President met with him on a host of issues, including the economy. The Prime Minister outlined the steps the Greek government was taking to address their fiscal challenges. They discussed continued efforts by Europe and the United States together to move forward on financial reform efforts globally."

"Greece is enacting major economic reforms with the support of the Euro-area and the IMF. This plan is designed to deliver results over the next several years. We strongly support this effort to help restore stability to Greece and confidence to the global financial system, and we will continue to communicate this to European officials," the White House concluded.