June 7, 2011
President Obama said Tuesday that Greece’s economic problems posed a potentially “disastrous” risk to the world economy. And he urged German Chancellor Angela Merkel to push for a resolution of the crisis over the Mediterranean nation’s finances.
Despite getting a $161 billion international bailout last year, Greece is again nearing default. The nation may run out of money to pay workers, pensioners and creditors this summer if it does not receive more help from the International Monetary Fund and its European neighbors.
Negotiations over additional help, however, are hung on Merkel’s insistence that private bondholders share some of the cost — an idea resisted by the IMF, the European Central Bank and others who feel it would undermine confidence in other European countries.
At a joint appearance with Merkel, Obama did not explicitly call on her to drop her conditions and speed approval of a new package for Greece.
But he made clear that the United States views the risks as serious, and he put the onus on Merkel and other European powers to quickly find a solution.
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