BERLIN: In a latest development, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has ruled out any debt relief for Greek government.
“There has already been voluntary debt forgiveness by private creditors, banks have already slashed billions from Greece’s debt,” Ms Merkel told the Hamburger Abendblatt newspaper.
“I do not envisage fresh debt cancellation.”
Greece opened talks on its bailout with European partners yesterday by refusing to extend the programme or to cooperate with the international inspectors overseeing it.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ government also sacked the heads of the state privatisation agency after halting a series of state asset sales.
The politically unpopular policy of privatisation to help cut debt is one of the conditions of Greece’s €240 billion bailout that has imposed years of harsh austerity on Greece.
Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis met Jeroen Dijsselbloem, head of the eurozone finance ministers’ group, for what both men described as “constructive” talks.
But Greek media seized on signs of frosty body language between them and the hour-long meeting appeared to do nothing to bridge the gap between them.
The meeting marks the start of Athens’ drive to persuade its creditors to ease the strict terms of the bailout.
It precedes planned visits by Mr Tsipras and Mr Varoufakis to London, Paris and Rome next week.
