The Financial Times reports that the Obama administration is urging eurozone leaders to collaborate with Athens as a stand-off could harm the global economy. The US lobbying comes amid mounting concern by the hard stand taken by some countries, especially Germany that Greece must continue with austerity regardless of last month’s election that gave the Greek government a clear mandate to work against it.

“There isn’t a special initiative. I don’t think our attitude has changed but what’s changed is that suddenly the situation in Greece is looking more problematic,” said a senior U.S. official.

The U.S. concerns will be raised at this week’s G20 meeting of leading economies’ finance ministers in Istanbul. There will be a bilateral meeting in Washington on Monday between U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Obama has already publicly supported calls by Alexis Tsipras to ease austerity-led policies. “You cannot keep squeezing countries that are in the midst of a depression,” said Obama in a CNN interview.