ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told European Central Bank President Mario Draghi during a phone call on Monday that there was an immediate need to lift capital controls in Greece, a government official said.

Tsipras also discussed the liquidity situation of Greek banks with the ECB chief, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Greek banks have been closed and the level of withdrawals from cash machines has been limited for more than a week, after the government imposed capital controls in an effort to prevent a collapse of the banking system.

(Reporting By Renee Maltezou)