Obama discusses Greek crisis with Hollande

U.S. President Barack Obama spoke on Monday by phone with French President Francois Hollande about how to keep Greece in the eurozone, the White House said in a statement.

"The two leaders agreed on the importance of finding a path forward that will allow Greece to resume reforms and return to growth and debt sustainability within the eurozone, recognizing that this will require difficult compromises from all sides," the statement said.

About 61.3 percent of Greeks voted against a proposal from international creditors that included pension cuts, tax increases and other austerity measures in a critical referendum on Sunday, even though the country has been in arrears to the International Monetary Fund since Wednesday.

Since June 29, Greek banks have been closed and capital controls imposed to avert a collapse in the banking sector after the European emergency liquidity aid was cut off.

Leaders of eurozone member states are set to gather in Brussels for an emergency summit on Tuesday to discuss a solution to the Greek crisis.

The White House statement also said that economic teams from France and the United States will stay in close contact and are monitoring the situation in Greece and in the global market. Endi