France says seeks lasting Greek solution at summit
PARIS | Thu Jul 21, 2011 2:54am EDT
PARIS (Reuters) -
France wants a lasting solution to Greece's debt crisis to be found and a Franco-German common position reached on the eve of a euro zone summit was a pre-condition for a deal, government spokeswoman Valerie Pecresse said on Thursday.
France and
Germany reached a joint stance on a second bailout for Greece late on Wednesday ahead of summit on Thursday in Brussels aimed at calming jittery financial markets and stabilizing Greece's debt crisis.
The accord, details of which were not given, emerged after seven hours of talks between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met in Berlin.
"France and Germany really stand hand-in-hand," Pecresse, who is also budget minister, said on France 2 television.
"The idea of having a common Franco-German position was essential, the pre-condition to finding a lasting solution for
Greece today," she said, adding that other euro zone countries had to be brought on board.
"
France really wants to find a lasting solution to the Greek problem today."