Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday that he wanted to see Europe follow through with its rescue package aimed at stemming the spread of the Greek debt crisis.

Geithner, speaking to CNBC Television in an interview, said: Absolutely Europe has the capacity to manage through this. We just want to see them follow through.

The network aired a short portion of its interview with Geithner on Wednesday.

Geithner has offered only words of encouragement to European leaders in recent weeks as they grapple with Greece's debt woes, trying to halt its spread to other countries and defending the euro.

He has consistently said Europe had the capacity for a strong financial response to the crisis. However, he has supported the International Monetary Fund's participation in a nearly $1 trillion aid package. The United States contributes to the IMF, and Geithner has sharply criticized efforts by Republican lawmakers to try to thwart IMF loans to European countries.

CNBC taped the interview on Tuesday in Washington state, where Geithner toured port facilities in Tacoma and a Boeing Co in Renton to highlight growing U.S. exports to China.

(Reporting by David Lawder, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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