Where Obama Stands On Greece Debt Crisis: Before Eurozone Summit, Greek Leader Called White House

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras spoke to President Barack Obama on the telephone about the Greek debt crisis on Tuesday, following a string of meetings with world leaders before the emergency eurozone summit on Tuesday night. The discussions come as the financial crisis in Greece, exacerbated by the results of a Sunday referendum against the bailout terms of the country's international creditors, has begun to reach the highest diplomatic channels.

Tsipras briefed Obama on Greek's request for a rescue loan, a Greek government official said, according to Reuters. Obama voiced strong hopes for the negotiations and called for a solution to the debt crisis that allows Greece to continue to use the euro.

Obama also talked to German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a phone call on Tuesday about the crisis, said White House spokesman Josh Earnest, according to MarketWatch. Earnest said while the White House is aware that reaching a deal could be "quite complicated," Greece could be kept in the eurozone only through a package of reform and financing.

Tsipras met with Merkel, French president Francois Hollande and the European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker Tuesday before the emergency eurozone meeting. On Monday, Tsipras discussed the results of the Greek bailout referendum with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who initiated the call, according to ITV.

The Kremlin released a statement on Monday: "[The sides] discussed the outcome of the referendum that took place in Greece on the conditions of international creditors providing Athens with financial aid, as well as several issues of further development of Greek-Russian cooperation." Putin personally "expressed support for the Greek people in overcoming the difficulties facing the country," the statement also read.

Greece did not yet have a concrete plan for the bailout as of the Tuesday meeting, and talks were expected throughout the week to build compromise terms for a new emergency bailout from international creditors.