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    Greek media are triumphant after the strong support for Greece voiced by U.S. President Barack Obama during his meeting with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras. The two politicians held a joint press conference after the talks the video of which had been disseminated later by the White House press office.

 "Obama: not only austerity," is the headline of Naftemporiki newspaper. According to the article, the U.S. President had stated that Samaras had assured him that he would continue with the reforms but austerity could not be the only strategy and, according to Barack Obama, jobs should be created in parallel. Naftemporiki claims that the U.S. President had acknowledged that Greece was facing major challenges but he had also expressed his confidence that it would succeed.

    According to To Vima newspaper, the U.S. President had directly stated that financial discipline was not a solution for Greece. "Obama stated that Greece is located in a region which is facing problems and difficulties and it can play a major role in achieving stability and in finding solutions to the problems, including the resolving of the Cyprus dispute. At the end of his statement, the U.S. President defined his meeting with the Greek Prime Minister as exceptional," states To Vima.

    "Obama supports the policies which will lead to economic growth" is the headline under which Kathimerini newspaper analyzes the meeting between the two statesmen and concludes, "Washington's position is clear - the euro zone needs a mix of different measures. The U.S. leadership had criticized Berlin for its intransigence on financial cuts. This is a discussion which is to be held in the Eurogroup during the discussion on the sustainability of the Greek debt," reads the article.

    Ethnos newspaper is even more extreme in its assessment as its headline reads, "Obama supported Athens and criticized Merkel." "With the phrase ‘We cannot simply look to austerity as a strategy,’ Barack Obama has satisfied the expectations of the Greek government to the highest degree. He did not limit himself to generalities of support and stability and rejected the cuts as inevitable for the country," comments Ethnos.

    The meeting between Barack Obama and Antonis Samaras did not go unnoticed overseas either. The Wall Street Journal states in a title, "President Says He Is Confident Samaras Is Committed to Tough Action". "The Obama administration is hoping Mr. Samaras can hold his government together long enough to undertake economic reforms required as a condition for receiving millions of dollars in aid from the International Monetary Fund and euro zone countries. A collapse of the Greek government could imperil future instalments," warns the prestigious financial newspaper.

    Antonis Samaras had devoted special time to the team of the Washington Post newspaper, defining Greece as a "bastion of stability" before its journalists. "If I had come to Washington a year ago, you would have seen Greece being unstable around an area of stability. Now we look good compared to the region," Samaras told the team of the newspaper.

    Bloomberg notes that Barack Obama has assured Antonis Samaras that he has the support of the U.S. regarding the difficult structural reforms that he should carry out. "The stakes are high not only for Europe but for the world economy," said the U.S. President, according to the agency.