Spotlight: Int'l community gives positive response to Greece bailout deal

The international community responded positively to a hard-won bailout deal between the eurozone creditors and its embattled member Greece.

The agreement was finally clinched at a eurozone summit on Monday morning after 17 hours of tough discussions, saving the country from ;leaving the euro.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), one of the trio creditors of the debt-ridden country, said Monday that it stands ready to work with the Greek authorities and the European partners to help resolve Greece's debt crisis.

According to an IMF statement, its Managing Director Christine Lagarde had briefed the fund's executive board on the outcome of the marathon talks.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose country is the major contributor to the Greek relief fund, said after the summit that the Eurogroup is ready to consider extending the maturity of Greek loans.

Merkel said she can recommend "with full conviction" that the Bundestag should agree to open negotiations with Greece. But the Greek Parliament must approve the entire conditions before the German parliament votes.

The German parliament is expected to vote Friday on the Greece bailout package, media reports quoted its speaker Norbert Lammert as saying.

Considering the comfortable majority of 504 out of 631 seats by Merkel's coalition of conservatives and Social Democrats, there would be no obstacles for the deal to clear the parliament, said Lammert.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy hailed the Monday deal as a "balanced agreement" that can help heal Greece's economy and strengthen the euro zone.

"I think it is a balanced agreement," Rajoy told a news conference. "The key now is that everyone do their part and honor their commitments."

NATO, of which Greece is a member, also welcomed the bailout deal, as Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the nation's economic stability was vital for the security of other NATO allies.

The deal was a spur to European stock markets. Frankfurt's DAX 30 climbed 1.49 percent and the French CAC 40 index advanced 1.94 percent on Monday. Outside the euro zone, FTSE 100, the British benchmark stock market gauge, also increased 0.97 percent.

U.S. stocks continued to rally Monday, with the three major indices logging a three-day winning streak, as market sentiment was boosted by the latest development in the Greek debt crisis.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 217.27 points, or 1.22 percent, to 17,977.68. The S&P 500 advanced 22.98 points, or 1.11 percent, to 2,099.60. The Nasdaq Composite Index surged 73.82 points, or 1.48 percent, to 5,071.51. Endi