Allied Solidarity — With few allies left in the European Union, Tsipras phones Obama after briefing Putin

Greek PM Tsipras called US President Obama today to explain Greece’s latest proposals to its European Union allies, and presumably ask for help closing a deal; this follows a wider-ranging discussion with Russia’s President Putin Monday. What little is currently out about the Obama call, from the Greek side, claims Tsipras briefed Obama on “Greece’s request for a rescue loan,” which is somewhat of a new formulation, since we thought Greece was starting to negotiate a new program with the Eurogroup, although that did not go very well. The Greek attempt to engage Obama follows on yesterday’s still-murky Hollande-Obama phone call reportedly about getting some kind of a deal for Greece. If I was Angela Merkel, I would suspect something is afoot.
A press release saying pretty much nothing will be made available in due time, but lately the White House has been using variations of this formulation describing how-to-save-Greece calls: “The two leaders agreed on the importance of finding a path forward that will allow Greece to resume reforms and return to growth and debt sustainability within the Eurozone, recognizing that this will require difficult compromises from all sides. The leaders noted that their economic teams continue to be in close contact and are monitoring the situation in Greece and in global markets.” Recall also that Obama spoke with PM Renzi on Greece July 1 and there were a number of contacts with Europeans leaders in June.
Inquiring minds want to know, how could the Greek delegation show up at the Eurogroup in Brussels without a written proposal yet the PM has the time to brief Greece’s last remaining allies?