U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday acknowledged the impact of Europe's debt turmoil on the U.S. economy.

BEN BERNANKE, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN

“Unfortunately we can't disassociate ourselves from Europe, the things that are happening there do affect us and that's an unfortunate fact. I hope very much that Europeans will find a set of solutions that will allow markets to calm down and take off some of the headwinds from the U.S. economy.”

BEN BERNANKE, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN

“It is a bit frustrating. Obviously the key decision-makers in Europe are the European leaders and economic policy makers there and ultimately it's their responsibility to find solutions to very difficult problems. Of course I and Treasury Secretary (Timothy Geithner) and other economic policy makers in the United States do confer and meet with European policy makers on a regular basis. We give our advice, for what it's worth, sometimes they take it, sometimes they don't, but obviously they're the ones who have to make decisions.”