Greece set to get cash to pay bills, but debt relief elusive

by Dramelin 8:00 AM 0 comments

Greece`s international lenders are expected to agree on Thursday to unblock as much as 8 billion euros in loans that Athens desperately needs to next month to pay its bills, but to leave the contentious issue of debt relief for later.
Euro zone finance ministers will meet in Luxembourg together with International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde.
She suggested last week that the IMF could join the Greek bailout now, but not disburse any money until the euro zone clarifies what debt relief it can offer Greece.
The IMF has so far refused to join in this bailout, Greece`s third since 2010, because it believes that without relief Greece cannot get out from under its massive debt mountain.
Euro zone powerhouse Germany does not want to discuss details of debt relief before German parliamentary elections in September.
At the same time, its parliament insists on IMF participation if it is to agree new disbursements.
Greek Economics Minister Dimitri Papadimitriou accused German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble of being "dishonest" by blocking debt relief for Greece despite his acknowledgement that Athens has implemented significant reforms.