No intention to act unilaterally on Greek debt: PM
Greece’s new radical Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has toned down his rhetoric on the country’s austerity program and pledged to reach a consensus with its creditors.
“I am absolutely confident that we will soon manage to reach a mutually beneficial agreement, both for Greece and for Europe as a whole,” said Greece’s new prime minister on Saturday.
Tsipras added, “No side is seeking conflict and it has never been our intention to act unilaterally on Greek debt.” He vowed not to act unilaterally and pledged to pay off its debt to the country’s troika of creditors.
The trio of creditors, aka troika is comprised of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Union (EU) and European Central Bank (ECB).
Tsipras’ comments came shortly after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Greece had enough “voluntary debt forgiveness by private creditors,” and added that she did “not envisage fresh debt cancellation” for Greece.
Greece’s new Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis on Friday, during a tense meeting with Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said that the new government does not intend to cooperate with a three- member committee.
Varoufakis’s announcement brought EU’s denunciation as well as Germany’s disapproval.
President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz slammed Greece in case it intends not to abide by its commitments to the troika of creditors.
Varoufakis confirmed that Greece’s Finance Ministry is going to hire a financial advisory and asset management firm, Lazard, to act once again as the country’s advisor regarding “debt and fiscal management.”
Back in 2012 when Greece underwent a critical financial crisis, Lazard had acted as an adviser.
In 2010, Greece suffered severe budget cuts in return for a €240-billion ($270 billion) bailout from the troika.
Greece has been relying on international rescue loans since 2010. It has received 240 billion euros (330 billion dollars) in international loans. In exchange, Athens has implemented harsh austerity programs.
MIS/NN
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