WASHINGTON
President Barack Obama on Monday urged European leaders to help Greece out of its debt crisis.
Obama called French President François Hollande Monday to discuss the crisis between Greece and the Eurogroup about extending its bailout program after the Eurogroup's rejected an offer to extend Greece's bailout.
According to the White House, Obama indicated to Hollande that the parties should remain at the table "to develop a package of reforms and financing that would allow Greece to return to growth and debt sustainability within the eurozone."
Obama’s call follows a similar with German Chancellor Angela Merkel during the weekend.
Greece’s government heads toward a referendum on July 5 on whether to accept bailout terms proposed by the Eurogroup and its other European creditors.
"What we have said for some time is that robust growth and economic stability in Europe is clearly within the U.S. economic interest but also in our national security interest as well," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest, who noted that the debt crisis does not pose a major direct risk to the U.S. banking system.
Earnest's words were contradicted by the performance of stocks Monday, as New York financial markets experienced sharp declines on worries about fallout from the crisis.
Athens is expected to default on its $2 billion obligations to the IMF on Tuesday.
The European Central Bank said in a statement Sunday that it would maintain emergency loans currently available to the Greek financial system, but would offer no further aid.
The ECB also said that it would maintain emergency loans at the 89 billion euros ($99.4 billion) limit, agreed to June 24.
According to the Bank of Greece, the country’s banks are losing about $500 million every day as panicked savers seek access to their funds before the possible imposition of capital controls.
Media have reported long lines of customers outside banks around the country as panic spreads.
