US looking to work closely with Greece’s left-wing SYRIZA

The White House said Monday it hoped to work closely with Greece’s new government after the radical left-wing SYRIZA party stormed to power on an anti-austerity platform.

“We congratulate Greece on successfully completing its parliamentary elections and we look forward to working closely with its next government,” Mark Stroh, a spokesman for the White House’s National Security Council, told AFP in New Delhi during a visit by US President Barack Obama.

The comments come after Syriza routed the New Democracy party of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in Sunday’s poll, putting Greece on a collision course with European and international creditors.

After his victory, SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras repeated his campaign pledge to renegotiate the terms of Greece’s 240-billion-euro ($269-billion) bailout with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.