WASHINGTON â€" President Obama on Thursday urged Greece to find ways to grow its economy even as it continues to cut spending in an effort to recover from a debt-driven economic crisis.
In a meeting in the Oval Office, Mr. Obama told Antonis Samaras, the Greek prime minister, that policies focused only on spending reductions would not help Greece return to economic prosperity.
“In dealing with the challenges that Greece faces, we cannot simply look to austerity,†Mr. Obama said in brief remarks to reporters after the two leaders met. “It’s important that we have a plan for fiscal consolidation to manage the debt, but it’s also important that growth and jobs are a focus.â€
Mr. Samaras echoed Mr. Obama’s concerns, noting that youth unemployment in his country had reached 60 percent. He said that Greece must reach for policies that encourage “growth and the creation of new jobs.â€
“We’ve gone through thick and thin,†Mr. Samaras said. “The sacrifices made by the Greek people are huge, but they’re not going to be in vain.â€
Mr. Obama waved aside questions from reporters on other topics, but announced that he planned to hold a news conference on Friday before leaving Washington the next day for a weeklong vacation on Martha’s Vineyard.
The news conference will give the president an opportunity to weigh in on a number of issues, including the cancellation of his summit with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, further revelations about government monitoring of e-mails, and the ongoing terror threat that has closed embassies around the world.
Mr. Obama has given several interviews in recent weeks and sometimes makes statements on particular topics, as when he discussed race after the verdict in the killing of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager in Florida. But his last news conference was in April.
