Greece finance minister to meet UK counterpart

Greece’s Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis is due to meet his British counterpart George Osborne as the new government in Athens has stepped up efforts to win support for a renegotiation of Athens' huge debt.

The two will hold talks at 1100 GMT on Monday in the British capital of London, a day after Varoufakis’s stop in Paris, where he said he is seeking to reach a new debt deal soon to end what he called his country's “addiction” to loan.

Greece’s new anti-austerity government wants to renegotiate its 240-billion-euro (USD 270-billion) bailout while it has refrained from cooperating with the so-called troika of international bailout inspectors that are tasked with supervising its harsh fiscal reforms.

Varoufakis reiterated on Sunday that Athens does not want to receive the next promised financial aid of 7.2 billion euros from the trio of creditors, the International Monetary Fund, European Union and European Central Bank (ECB). He is after having direct access to the trio.

“It's not that we don't need the money; we're desperate,” he said at a joint press conference with his French counterpart Michel Sapin, adding, “What this government is all about is ending this addiction.”

Varoufakis, meanwhile, is anticipated to meet with key figures from London's main financial sector.

The meetings come as German Chancellor Angela Merkel has threatened that Greece's anti-austerity government would not be granted any additional debt relief.

“There has already been voluntary debt forgiveness by private creditors, banks have already slashed billions from Greece's debt,” she told the Hamburger Abendblatt daily on Saturday.

The German leader added that Europe would carry on supporting Greece if Athens implements the austerity measures under its bailout deal with the international creditors.

The ECB has also warned that Greece cannot keep receiving financial aid from the institution if it fails to extend its bailout program before a February deadline.

Varoufakis told reporters in Paris that he wants to visit Germany. However, German Finance Ministry says it has not yet received an “official request” from Athens for such a visit.

Greece has been relying on international rescue loans since 2010. In exchange for its international loans, Athens has implemented harsh austerity programs that have caused mounting dissatisfaction in the country.

MR/NN/HRB

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