Tsipras says Greece to repay ECB, IMF, reach deal with euro area
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras sought to repair relations with the country’s creditors after a week- long selloff in bonds and stocks, triggered by his pledge to end the country’s bailout agreement.
Greece will repay its debts to the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund and reach a deal soon with the euro area nations that funded most of the country’s financial rescue, Tsipras said Saturday in an e-mailed statement.
“My obligation to respect the clear mandate of the Greek people with respect to ending the policies of austerity and returning to a growth agenda, in no way entails that we will not fulfill our loan obligations to the ECB or the IMF,” Tsipras said.
Greece may soon be operating without a financial safety net for the first time in five years after Tsipras said he won’t respect the conditions of the country’s 240 billion-euro ($271 billion) rescue. He’s asking euro area officials to endorse an alternative program of economic revival that would allow increases in spending and wages to boost growth.
“We need time to breathe and create our own medium-term recovery program, which amongst other things will incorporate the targets of primary balanced budgets and radical reforms to address the issues of tax evasion, corruption and clientelistic policies,” Tsipras said. “I am absolutely confident that we will soon manage to reach a mutually beneficial agreement, both for Greece and for Europe as a whole.”
[Bloomberg]
