IMF denies forcing Greece to restructure debt
IMF Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn denied press reports claiming that the fund was trying to force Greece to restructure its debts and that it has lost faith in the country’s economic recovery.
“We are supporting the Greek government in its position that it doesn’t want a restructuring of the debt…» Strauss-Kahn told students at George Washington University late on Monday.
He said the challenge for Greece was to make its economy more competitive and restructuring the country’s debt would not resolve that issue.
“To restore growth in Greece, you have to restore competitiveness. That is the real problem and what we’ve tried to address,» he added.
But the IMF chief acknowledged that Greece could have been in a better situation if the IMF and the European Union were able to help earlier as the country battled a debt crisis last year.
“But for governance problems, political problems within the European Union, it took more time than necessary and of course, the later you do what you have to do the worse it is,» Strauss-Kahn said.
