US says confident EU can handle Greek debt situation

WASHINGTON Feb 16 (Reuters) - The United States is confident that the European Union can bring Greece's swollen debt under control, the White House said on Tuesday.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and top economic advisers Christina Romer and Lawrence Summers had briefed Obama on Tuesday on Greece's debt situation and the challenges facing the EU.

"We have confidence, as they told the president, that the EU is capable of dealing with the situation," Gibbs said.

(Reporting by Ross Colvin)