Obama rules out financial aid for Europe
Baku, November 29 (AZERTAC). US President Barack Obama says the United States stands ready to do its part to help Europe with its deepening debt crisis, but the White House has ruled out any financial contributions from US taxpayers.
"This is of huge importance to our own economy," Mr Obama said, after meeting European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in Washington DC.
"I communicated to them that the United States stands ready to do our part to help them resolve this issue," Mr Obama said, adding that it would be tougher for his administration to create jobs at home if European markets were contracting.
Meantime, Mr Barroso offered his assurances to Mr Obama that Europe`s leaders fully understood the magnitude of the crisis, but warned that decisions on how to solve the economic woes could take time.
Experts say that without drastic action, the euro could be days away from collapsing, a scenario that could cause more financial damage to the already shaky American economy.
While Mr Obama offered no specifics on how the US may be willing to assist Europe, he said failing to resolve the continent`s debt crisis could damage a US economy saddled with slow growth and nine per cent unemployment.
But some US allies, including Finland and the Netherlands, have called for the International Monetary Fund to be bolstered with more capital so that it could in turn help stem Europe`s debt crisis from deepening and spreading.
The US is the single-biggest stakeholder in the IMF.
Earlier, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the IMF has substantial resources already.
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