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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 15-07-17
CONTENTS
[01] It is necessary to ease Greece's debt burden, IMF chief Lagarde says
[01] It is necessary to ease Greece's debt burden, IMF chief Lagarde says
ANA/MPA---Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), pn Friday reiterated the IMF's position that it
was necessary to "restructure Greece's debt to ease the burden". In
an interview on Europe 1 radio, Lagarde said the solution recommended
by the IMF was "to significantly extend maturities, also lengthen the
grace period during which no refund is made, and reduce the interest
up." "We believe that by using these three methods of really significant
way may be enough to make the debt bearable" said Christine Lagarde. In
other words, "a debt sustainability, one can quite achieve it by other
methods than a straight cut on the amount of debt".
For Christine Lagarde, the agreement reached Monday between Athens and
its creditors is only "the beginning of an adventure." "Let's be clear,
we do not reach the end of a process. It is a process that opens, on a
very tight schedule with an enormous challenge," she warned. Negotiations
on specific terms of the new aid plan will last "at least four weeks,"
according to the boss of the IMF. "It will not be a bed of roses, it
will be complicated, it will be laborious."
Commenting on a Greek government plan to reopen banks on Monday, the
IMF's head said: "The measure taken by Greek authorities to close the
banks was a measure absolutely necessary," said the general director
of the IMF. "As much that extent was totally legitimate and protecting
savers and depositors, as the action may be taken on Monday is also
reassuring. It will mean that confidence is starting to build."
Responding to criticism over the IMF's role since the beginning of the
crisis, Lagarde said: "In 2010, I was not director general of the IMF,
I was Minister of Finance and I was not particularly favorable to the
IMF's involvement because I hoped at the time that we can solve the
problem among Europeans. We did not succeed at that time". "At the time,
I think that there was no choice but to take a very firm line on deficit
reduction," she added.
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