President Obama on Thursday said world leaders gathered at a G20 meeting need to work together to resolve the European debt crisis.
Speaking at a joint news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Obama said decisive action is needed to bail out Greece and stabilize the European economy.
“The EU has made some important steps toward a comprehensive solution, and that would not have happened without Nicolas’s leadership, but here at the G20 we’re going to have to flesh out about how the plan will be fully and decisively implemented,” Obama said.
European leaders agreed to a plan to bail out Greece last month, but Greek Prime Minister George Papendreou balked, announcing he would allow his country to vote on whether or not to reject the plan. The referendum call split the Greek cabinet, with BBC News reporting Thursday that Papendreou would offer to resign.
“We also discussed the situation in Greece and how we can work to help
resolve that situation as well,” Obama said.
Obama also took a moment to congratulate Sarkozy on the birth of his daughter with his wife and former model Carla Bruni.
“I’m confident that Giulia inherited her mother’s looks rather than her father’s, which I think is an excellent thing,” Obama joked.
For the latest on the G20 meeting in France and Obama’s view on Greece, click here.
— Alicia M. Cohn contributed to this story
