Obama to welcome Greek PM in August
US President Barack Obama will welcome Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to the White House next month, in a sign of support for his efforts to repair the country's debt-laden economy.
The August 8 visit will also touch on US-Greek defense cooperation within NATO, the perennial issue of Cyprus, counterterrorism efforts and instability in North Africa and Syria.
"The visit will highlight the strength of the US-Greek relationship today -- bound together through enduring ties of kinship, common interests, and the NATO Alliance," said a White House statement.
Obama will also underscore US support for "Greece's efforts to reform its economy and promote a return to prosperity," the statement said.
Samaras will make the first visit by a Greek leader to the Oval Office since George Papandreou was in town in March 2010 as his country battled to stave off speculators choking Greece's access to credit.
He will arrive in Washington following a domestic political crisis which forced him into a cabinet reshuffle following the disputed closure of public broadcaster ERT.
Greece, in exchange for its massive 240-billion-euro ($312 billion) EU-IMF rescue loans, is under pressure to axe thousands of civil servant jobs, among other austerity reforms.
The White House meeting next month will come after Obama expressed concern during a trip to Europe last month about the price being paid as high unemployment stalks the euro zone amid tough austerity policies.
"If, for example, we start seeing youth unemployment go too high ... we've got to modulate our approach to ensure that we don't just lose a generation who may never recover in terms of their careers," Obama warned by the side of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the key architect of European recovery policies, in Berlin.
