White House refuses to be drawn on debt write-off for Greece

The Obama administration refused to be drawn on whether Greece should be given a debt write-off as a way of resolving the debt crisis.

"The creditors who are sitting around the table recognise that it is in their interest for Greece to be back on a path of economic growth but it is also important for Greece to implement the kinds of reforms and to keep the commitments they have made previously," US president Barack Obama's spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters at the White House.

Notwithstanding the referendum result, Greece still required a package of financing and reforms to return the country to a level of debt sustainability and a path to economic growth, he said.

The administration continued to “take heart” in the fact that, despite the differences between the sides, all parties recognise the need for a package that will allow Greece to remain in the eurozone, he said.

Asked whether the resolution to the Greek debt crisis had been too focused on austerity, Mr Earnest declined to answer, saying that it was the responsibility of the Europeans, the Greeks and its creditors to try to resolve the crisis.

He wouldn’t rule out Mr Obama making calls to his European counterparts over the coming days to discuss situation in Greece, he said, and that US treasury secretary Jack Lew was in constant contact with his counterparts in Europe over the crisis.

The crisis had little direct risk to the US and a spillover into the markets was limited, said Mr Earnest, but he warned that the US had strong ties with Europe and that a failure to deal with the crisis in an orderly way could have a broader economic impact on Europe.