Greece is vowing to meet its international bailout debt obligations and remain in the 17-nation bloc that uses the common euro currency.

In a 25-minute telephone call Wednesday night, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou told German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy that Greece would continue with its austerity budgeting plan in order to secure more international assistance and trim its deficit.

International stock markets have been engulfed in turmoil in recent days amid fears the Athens government was close to defaulting on its debts. That in turn could endanger the stability of the euro and European banks that hold large amounts of Greek debt.

But after the telephone call, a Greek government spokesman stressed that all three leaders agreed that Greece would remain in the eurozone. In Germany, Mrs. Merkel's spokesman said she and Mr. Sarkozy emphasized to Mr. Papandreou that Greece must adhere to its economic reforms, including the sale of numerous state-owned properties to raise money to help cut its deficit.

The German spokesman said Greece must meet its fiscal targets in order to continue to receive more international aid to help finance its government operations.

Heavily indebted Greece was the first country in the European Union to secure an international bailout, partly financed by stronger European economies like Germany and France.

But some financial analysts say they fear that the international aid, combined with the Greek austerity measures, will not be enough to pull Athens out of the crisis and avoid a default. As a result, two French banks that are owed large amounts of Greek debt had their credit ratings downgraded Wednesday by the international rating agency Moody's.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick warned in Washington that the global economy had “entered a new danger zone” because of the European debt crisis. He sharply faulted the 17 eurozone nations for using a common currency while allowing each nation to set its own spending and taxation policies.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said at an investors' conference in New York Wednesday that he is confident that Mrs. Merkel and other European leaders will do what is necessary to make sure their major financial institutions are not at risk of collapse. Geithner meets European finance ministers in Poland on Friday.

The European debt problems have not been limited to Greece. In Italy, the eurozone's third-largest economy, the government won approval from Parliament Wednesday to move ahead with an austerity program designed to help fend off a financial crisis.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's $74 billion austerity plan is a mix of spending cuts, tax increases and changes to retirement plans aimed at achieving a balanced budget by 2013.

But like in Greece, it is not popular. Hundreds of anti-austerity protesters clashed with police in Rome as the Chamber of Deputies completed action on the Berlusconi plan.

World financial markets have been hit hard because of fears of a Greek default and broader economic problems in parts of Europe. Financial experts fear a domino effect if the Greek economy fails.

European stock markets ended higher on Wednesday, in part because of new reports of support for European bond markets from China and other major newly developed powerful economies.