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Greece will lose funds in case of no debt repayment: IMF

William Murray, the spokesman for the International Monetary Fund

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that Greece will not receive additional funds should it fail to make its debt repayment to the US-based organization.

"Any country that doesn't meet its commitment with the Fund... is declared in arrears and they have no access to IMF funding," IMF spokesman William Murray said in a news conference in Washington on Thursday.

Murray, however, noted that the IMF believes that Athens would not miss any of the looming repayments to its international creditors, saying, "As we stand here right now, we expect the Greek authorities will pay us.”

On May 24, Greece's Interior Minister Nikos Voutsis warned that the cash-strapped country had "no money" to make the repayments to the IMF, totaling 1.6 billion euros (USD 1.75 billion), due on June 5.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis (L) speaks with Interior Minister Nikos Voutsis in the parliament in Athens, March 18, 2015. (AFP)

 

The remarks come as talks are underway between Greece and its lenders to reach a deal aimed at unblocking bailout funds which Athens desperately needs.

A compromise would pave the way for the release of 7.2 billion euros (USD 7.8 billion) in remaining bailout money that the Mediterranean country needs to avoid defaulting on its foreign debt.

Greece’s possible deal with creditors

Greece’s Economy Minister Giorgos Stathakis announced on Wednesday that a deal could be reached as soon as this weekend, saying, "The deal is very close.”

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis had earlier stressed that Athens has gone three-quarters of the way to reaching a deal to avert bankruptcy.

Pierre Moscovici, the European commissioner for economic and financial affairs, reacted to the comments, saying, "It is wrong to say, like the Greeks have, that we've gone three-quarters of the way to reaching a deal.”

A man walks by a ' 0 Euro' graffiti at a parking lot in Greece’s capital city of Athens, May 25, 2015. (AFP)

Following the 2009 economic crisis, Greece received two bailouts in 2010 and 2012 worth a total of €240 billion (USD 272 billion) from the so-called troika of international lenders - IMF, the European Commission and the European Central Bank. However, over the past few years, the country has been unable to borrow on international markets due to high borrowing rates.

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