Merkel Loves Greeks 'When They Act Reasonably'

German Chancellor Angela Merkel joked ahead of a crunch summit on the Eurozone debt crisis Wednesday that she loved Greeks "when they act reasonably".

Asked at an event marking 50 years since Germany invited Turks as "guest workers" to fill a yawning labor market gap, Merkel was asked if she didn't long for the days when integration of Turks was a major worry on her political agenda.

She quipped: "We love everyone when they act reasonably, Greeks as well as Turks."

Merkel will join French President Nicolas Sarkozy later Wednesday in Cannes for emergency talks with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou as well as the head of the IMF and top European officials to assess the fallout after Greece's shock referendum decision.

The Greek call late Monday to put crisis measures to a vote stunned European leaders and sent stock markets around the world tumbling amid uncertainty over banks' exposure to debt in the event of a default.