Scholz seen to pick up where Schaeuble left off

Despite the cordial meeting on Friday between Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and his new German counterpart Olaf Scholz, Berlin made it clear that the key Greek demand of debt relief will only be discussed after Greece's bailout program ends.

Taking a page out of the book of Scholz's predecessor Wolfgang Schaeuble, German Finance Ministry's spokesman Johannes Blankenheim added, moreover, that discussions on debt relief measures can only begin after a debt sustainability analysis is conducted and a report by the institutions is issued by mid-July.

Blankenheim also said that Berlin expects Greece to present a credible growth program.

Scholz's comments dampened expectations among creditors and the European Commission that a comprehensive deal is feasible by the June 21 Eurogroup.

For its part, the Greek Finance Ministry said that the meeting between...