Portuguese president hopes Greece to return to negotiations

Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva said on Monday he hopes the Greek government will return to negotiations and the Greek debt crisis would not significantly affect Portugal's economic growth.

"I really hope the Greek return to the negotiating table. I am convinced that that will benefit Europe in its entirety... For a long time I have been thinking from the way Greek negotiators have acted things would end up wrongly," Cavaco Silva told journalists on the sidelines of an itinerary for a "Dynamic Economy" in Pacos de Ferreira, around 340 km north of Lisbon.

Greek banks closed on Monday after the Greek government announced over the weekend that it would call a referendum on July 5 to decide whether or not it will accept further austerity proposed by international creditors.

Cavaco Silva said that the entire eurozone would suffer "some contagion" from the Greek crisis but said the monetary union had the instruments to face a financial Greek crisis in a better way that it would have been able to two years ago.

"The return of Greece, accepting the conditions that were put on the table and which I suppose took into account the demands made by the Greek authorities, would be the best solution for the Economic and Monetary Union," he added. "I think all countries could suffer a negative contagion." Endit