IMF official eyes debt relief, political stability for Greece

A spokesman for the International Monetary Fund, one of Greece's three international creditors, acknowledged in comments to reporters late on Thursday that Greek debt is high and added that Greece's eurozone partners had agreed to debt relief.

Addressing a weekly press conference in Washington, Rice expressed concern about the prospect of political instability in Greece ahead of local authority elections.

"In the Greek program, like other programs, political stability is an important issue," he said.

On Greece's debt, Rice said it is "already high and is expected to remain high," adding that Greece's European partners and lenders have agreed to debt relief, if necessary, if Athens honors its commitments to enforce agreed-to reforms.