The US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew spoke on Monday with Greece‘s prime minister and finance minister and said Washington looked forward to Athens and other parties resuming conversations toward resolving the Greek situation, a Treasury spokeswoman said.
Lew voiced hope such an outcome “will allow Greece to make difficult but necessary fiscal and structural reforms, return to growth, and achieve debt sustainability within the Eurozone,” the Treasury statement said, adding Lew offered to stay in close touch in coming days.
The call with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the new finance chief, Euclid Tsakalotos, came a day after Greeks voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to reject more austerity.
Cash-to-reform Deal
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, the euro zone’s most powerful leaders, said Athens must move quickly if it wants to secure a cash-for-reform deal with creditors and avoid crashing out of the single currency.
President Barack Obama spoke with Hollande on Monday about the Greek situation and they agreed on the importance of finding a path for Greece to resume reforms and return to growth within the euro zone, the White House said.
The Obama administration has downplayed the damage a Greek meltdown could have on the US economy.
The US banks were on the hook for just $12.7 billion in Greek debt at the end of 2014, according to the Bank of International Settlements. That is tiny relative to America‘s giant banking sector and $17 trillion economy.
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