(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday "door is open for discussion" on resolving crisis with Greece after a popular referendum on Sunday rejected an EU reform and financial salvage plan.
Speaking at the Elysee palace after two hours of talks, the French and German leaders urged the Greek government to rapidly come up with proposals to resolve the debt issue and get Greece out of the current financial default it finds itself in since last week.
Leftist Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras must come up with proposals "for the duration" that will solve the problem long term. Greece owes Euros 320 billion to international creditors like the European Central Bank, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as well as to private banks, and has defaulted on a debt repayment to the IMF, the first time a developed economy has ever done this.
Tsipras, in a chess-like move, called a hasty referendum on Sunday and got popular backing to reject a package from international creditors that required more austerity.
That proposal from "us was very generous," Merkel said in a statement alongside Hollande.
She urged the Greek prime minister to move quickly to come up with his proposals to resolve the stand-off that could threaten the Greeks position in the Euro zone.
"There is not much time and we have urgency," Hollande warned, noting that the Heads of Government of the 18 Eurozone countries would be meeting in Brussels on Tuesday to thrash out the Greek issue once again.
The French leader stressed that Greece wanted to stay in the Euro system and was welcome there, and he said "there is room for solidarity but there must be a balance between solidarity and responsibility." For her part, the German Chancellor said that the EU must "respect the decision of the referendum" in Greece on Sunday as this was a "sovereign" act.
"We say the door is open and that is the reason for the meeting" at summit level in Brussels tomorrow, Merkel remarked.
The EU group wants "totally precise" proposals from Tsipras and the group is willing to show solidarity with Greece, she added.
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