Greece to pay part of debt on April 9: IMF chief
Greece has agreed to pay off part of its debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on April 9, the head of the organization says.
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde made the remarks in a statement released on Sunday after meeting Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis at the fund’s headquarters in Washington.
“Continuing uncertainty is not in Greece’s interest and I welcomed confirmation by the [Greek finance] minister that payment owing to the fund would be forthcoming on April 9,” Lagarde said, adding, “We both agreed that effective cooperation is in everyone’s interest.”
Athens must pay back EUR 460 million (USD 501 million) of its debt to the IMF on Thursday.
On Saturday, Greece’s Deputy Finance Minister Dimitris Mardas told TV station Mega that the country has the required funds to partially pay off its debt but the government should decide whether to pay.
Greece is in difficult talks with the troika of its international creditors - the European Central Bank (ECB), the IMF and the European Commission - over a bailout program, struggling to convince them that it has a credible economic reform plan.
On February 20, a tentative agreement to extend Greece’s bailout program by four months was reached during preparatory talks between Varoufakis, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, Lagarde and Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem.
However, Greece was asked to submit a list of proposed economic reforms to the EU in order for the agreement to take effect.
Experts from the EU and the IMF are going through the details of the list of reforms provided by Athens, which could unlock another EUR 7.2 billion (USD 7.8 billion) in loans.
Greece received its EUR 240-billion (USD 270-billion) rescue package in 2010 in return for adopting harsh austerity measures.
MSM/HJL/HRB
Venezuela dismisses EU sanctions renewal as ‘complete failure’
EU’s tampering with Russian assets is ‘theft’ no matter how it’s framed: Moscow
EU member states agree to impose indefinite freeze on Russian assets
Advocacy group DAWN launches website exposing 'Faces of AIPAC'
US ambassador meets Palestinian official in Ramallah: Report
UAE exposed as secret buyer in huge arms deal with Israel: Report
Trump, Netanyahu planned war on Iran since February: Report
Iran condemns US hypocrisy, citing aggression, sanctions, restrictions
VIDEO | Pakistan, Russia explore potential oil cooperation amid global sanctions
VIDEO | Bethlehem’s Christmas returns: A message of peace from the birthplace of Christianity
VIDEO | Press TV's news headlines
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
