IMF Must Help Avoid Greek 'Explosion,' Italian Premier Monti Says in D.C.

He also discussed the euro zone debt crisis with U.S. congressional leaders. On Friday, the Italian prime minister heads to New York where he will try to persuade Wall Street investors of his efforts to bring the budget of the euro zone's third-largest economy under control.

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"Where I see room for improvement on the part of the IMF is in having a broader understanding of specific situations where strict adherence to a model might prevent the pragmatic solution of the problem," he told the audience at Peterson Institute.

Monti said his 12-week-old government had already seen positive results from a 30 billion euro ($39.91 billion) austerity package, which was introduced last year in the midst of a political and budgetary crisis.

He said a sharp drop in Italian bond yields since then was a signal of greater market confidence.

Obama said he had told Monti that the United States would do whatever it could to help stabilize the situation in Europe, and reiterated that a strong defense was needed to contain the crisis.

Euro zone leaders are expected to finalize a 500 billion euro bailout fund at the beginning of March to help countries hurt by the crisis. Some, including the United States and the IMF, have called on Europe to boost that amount.

The so-called troika of the IMF, European Union and European Central Bank are finalizing details of a second international bailout for Greece in an effort to help it avoid a default.

Greek politicians on Thursday agreed to reform measures that would narrow the country's budget deficit, a critical pre-condition by the troika for receiving more aid.

Monti said that if the Greek situation is resolved, it would further push down Italian bond yields. The 10-year bond spread between Italian bonds and German Bunds, seen as a measure of the perceived risks of Italy, peaked at 574 basis points in mid-November before the former government led by Silvio Berlusconi resigned.

Monti said a key element of political uncertainty in Italy was removed last week when Berlusconi expressed continued support for the current technocrat government. Berlusconi's support provides Monti's government with needed parliamentary backing.