Greece's Prime Minister George Papandreou exits after a cabinet meeting at the parliament in Athens on Sunday, Nov. 6 2011. Greek leaders struggled for a second day to end an ongoing political crisis, under intense pressure to ensure the country doesn't go bankrupt in the next few weeks and that it remains in the eurozone. Papandreou informed cabinet members that he asked Greek President Karolos Papoulias for an urgent meeting with opposition leader Antonis Samaras. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)
Greece's Prime Minister George Papandreou exits after a cabinet meeting at the parliament in Athens on Sunday, Nov. 6 2011. Greek leaders struggled for a second day to end an ongoing political crisis, under intense pressure to ensure the country doesn't go bankrupt in the next few weeks and that it remains in the eurozone. Papandreou informed cabinet members that he asked Greek President Karolos Papoulias for an urgent meeting with opposition leader Antonis Samaras. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)
Greece's Prime Minister George Papandreou arrives for a cabinet meeting at the parliament in Athens on Sunday, Nov. 6 2011. Greek leaders struggled for a second day to end an ongoing political crisis, under intense pressure to ensure the country doesn't go bankrupt in the next few weeks and that it remains in the eurozone. Papandreou informed cabinet members that he asked Greek President Karolos Papoulias for an urgent meeting with opposition leader Antonis Samaras. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)
Greece's Prime Minister George Papandreou arrives for a cabinet meeting at the parliament in Athens on Sunday, Nov. 6 2011. Greek leaders struggled for a second day to end an ongoing political crisis, under intense pressure to ensure the country doesn't go bankrupt in the next few weeks and that it remains in the eurozone. Papandreou informed cabinet members that he asked Greek President Karolos Papoulias for an urgent meeting with opposition leader Antonis Samaras. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)
Greece's Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos arrives for a cabinet meeting at the parliament in Athens on Sunday, Nov. 6 2011. Greek leaders struggled for a second day to end an ongoing political crisis, under intense pressure to ensure the country doesn't go bankrupt in the next few weeks and that it remains in the eurozone. Papandreou informed cabinet members that he asked Greek President Karolos Papoulias for an urgent meeting with opposition leader Antonis Samaras. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)
Greece's opposition leader Antonis Samaras pauses during his meeting with Greek president Karolos Papoulias, at the Presidential Palace in Athens Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011. The conservative leader of the main opposition party said that no talks between the two parties were taking place and Antonis Samaras also reiterated his stance that Prime Minister George Papandreou must resign before any coalition discussions can take place.(AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)
ATHENS, Greece (AP) ? Greece's embattled prime minister and the head of the main opposition party reached an initial agreement Sunday night to form an interim government that will ensure the country's new European debt deal and then lead Greece to early elections, the president's office said.
The announcement came after President Karolos Papoulias chaired crisis talks between Prime Minister George Papandreou and opposition leader Antonis Samaras, capping a week of drama sparked by Papandreou's announcement he was taking the debt deal to a referendum. He withdrew the plan Thursday after intense opposition from European leaders and his own lawmakers.
The political turmoil had frayed nerves on international markets and seen Greece's cherished membership of Europe's joint currency come under threat. Greece is anxious to reach an agreement quickly on a new government, as it faces a meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels on Monday.
Papandreou has already made clear he will not head the interim government, the president's announcement said, adding that there would be a meeting between the premier and Samaras on Monday to discuss who will act as interim prime minister and the makeup of the Cabinet. Papoulias also would chair a meeting of the heads of all political parties.
Faced with an open rebellion from his own Socialist lawmakers and mounting pressure to resign, Papandreou had said he would step aside if agreement could be reached on an interim government that would secure the new European debt deal and the disbursement of a vital bailout loan installment without which the country will default within weeks. He survived a confidence vote in his government Saturday.
For his part, Samaras had insisted he would only sit at the negotiating table if Papandreou resigned first, leading to a stalemate broken by Papoulias' calling both sides to the meeting.
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