President Barack Obama said Friday he is pleased Greece`s opposition party has backed Europe`s economic bailout plan for the country, according to CNN.
"The international community is going to stand ready to assist," he said at the G-20 economic summit in Cannes, France.
Obama said recent events in Greece have underscored the importance of implementing a Greek economic bailout plan fully and quickly, adding that "global demand is weakening" and "the world faces challenges that put our economic recovery at risk."
European Union leaders on October 27 got Greek bondholders to scrap about half of Greece`s debt as part of a three-pronged plan aimed at shoring up Greece`s financial future, returning stability to Europe`s banks and expanding the EFSF bailout fund`s resources to more than ?1 trillion.
But less than a week later, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou shocked the world by calling for a national referendum on international aid for his country – despite already agreeing in principle to implement reforms in order to meet Greek bondholders` terms – which, if rejected, could lead to a Greek default and the country`s exit from the euro.
But on Thursday, Papandreou backed away from the referendum plans, saying the opposition`s approval of the bailout made a referendum unnecessary.
