Tsipras eyes Greek return to markets soon
Alexis Tsipras, Greece’s newly re-elected prime minister, has said that a deal with foreign lenders in the coming months will allow the country to return to bond markets soon, adding that Athens may ask for spending on dealing with an unprecedented refugee crisis to be excluded from deficit calculations.
“The goal is to return to the markets… If there is a good decision on the debt issue, Greece could return to markets shortly after debt restructuring,” Tsipras said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal Tuesday.
Talks on debt restructuring are expected to begin later this year after the first review of Greek progress has been completed.
Tsipras, who is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, said that deficit targets set out by the third international bailout were hampered by efforts to tackle the ongoing migrant and refugee crisis. He said creditors should consider giving Greece some leeway on budget plans.
“Our goal is to agree with our [European] partners that if the situation deteriorates, the funds that Greece will spend will be excluded from the calculation of the deficit,” the leftist premier told WSJ.
