Gerry Rice

The International Monetary Fund has played a leading role in supporting the view that Greece should be granted debt relief, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said early on Thursday, stressing that this was clear from the outset.

The early repayment of Greece's loans from the International Monetary Fund is a decision the Greek authorities will make, said IMF spokesman Gerry Rice on Thursday, while noting that this would require the consent of the country's other official creditors.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reiterated on Thursday that coordinated steps must be undertaken to expedite the reduction of nonperforming loans (NPLs) held by Greek banks.

Greece's creditors have long cited NPLs as a major vulnerability of the Greek economy.  

The International Monetary Fund has underlined the need for planned pension cuts to be carried out while conceding that the negotiation is between Greece and its European partners as the Fund did not participate in the country's last bailout program.

The International Monetary Fund on Thursday issued a flat denial to the government's request to cancel the implementation of the planned pension cut in January 2019, while Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos appeared reserved about Berlin's attitude as he responded to investors' questions in London a day after meeting his German counterpart.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) stuck to its guns concerning Greece's planned pension cuts on Thursday, saying that they should be implemented to "improve the country's long-term prospects" and send a "clear signal" to investors that the government remains committed to agreed reforms.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) stuck to its guns concerning Greece's planned pension cuts on Thursday, saying that they should be implemented to "improve the country's long-term prospects" and send a "clear signal" to investors that the government remains committed to agreed reforms.

Besides some small steps of progress by Berlin, the meeting of the Washington Group and the session of the Euro Working Group ended on Thursday in Paris without any agreements on measures to ease Greece's debt, heightening the possibility that the International Monetary Fund will opt out of funding the Greek program.

Discussions continue on policies that could support the participation of the International Monetary Fund in the Greek program and the arrangement of the national debt, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said in Washington on Thursday, but stressed that "time is running very short" for a solution.

"Time is running out," International Monetary Fund spokesman Gerry Rice warned on Thursday in reference to the agreement required for the easing of Greece's national debt. He stressed that despite the progress in talks, the Europeans' proposals have not yet satisfied the Fund.