US President Barack Obama today said the economic crisis in Greece is an issue of substantial concern, but is unlikely to have a major impact on the American system.
"In layman's terms, for the American people, this is not something that we believe will have a major shock to the system, but obviously it's very painful for the Greek people and it can have a significant effect on growth rates in Europe," Obama told reporters at a White House news conference.
"It is an issue of substantial concern. It is an issue primarily of concern to Europe. Essentially what you have here is a country that has gone through some very difficult economic times, needs to find a path towards growth and a path to stay in the Eurozone," he said in response to a question.
"And what we've been encouraging both the Greek government and our European partners to do is to continue to negotiate and find a pathway towards a resolution," he said.
"It is also important to make sure that we plan for any contingency and that we work with the European Central Bank and other international institutions to make sure that some of the bumps that may occur in the financial markets and that have already occurred are smoothed out," he noted.
Obama said if Europe's not growing the way it needs to grow, that has an impact on US.
"Those are major export markets and that can have a dampening effect on the entire world economy. So it's something that we are monitoring. It's something that we spend a lot of time on," he said.
The US Treasury Secretary, Jack Lew, has been talking to his counterparts in Europe and encouraging them to find a path towards a resolution.
"So it's something that we take seriously but it's not something that I think should prompt overreactions. So far I think the markets have properly factored in the risks involved," Obama said.
