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US President Barack Obama on Tuesday said he would press upon European allies his view that austerity alone “cannot deliver prosperity.”

“In my message to the rest of Europe I will continue to emphasise our view that austerity alone cannot deliver prosperity,” Obama told Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras at the start of his final trip as president to Europe.

Tsipras, who signed a hugely unpopular bailout agreement with the European Union last year, is anxious for a new US pledge to help alleviate the country’s enormous public debt.

Obama said that it was “important” to help the Greeks with debt relief and other strategies.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which was party to two prior Greek rescues in 2010 and 2012, has refused to join the third bailout without debt relief.

But Germany, which holds elections next year, is strongly opposed to the idea.