‘Difficult decision’: Last-ditch talks between Greece and creditors end without agreement
Greek officials said the failure to strike a deal in Brussels was the fault of the International Monetary Fund, the country’s firmest creditor, as Athens edges closer to the euro zone exit door.
An agreement on Greece will require “difficult decisions by all sides” the IMF said, after last-ditch talks between cash-strapped Athens and its EU-IMF creditors ended with no deal on Sunday.
IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard made the comments in an official blog, saying that there were “tough choices and tough commitments to be made on both sides,” amid growing fears that the Greek government is heading into the financial abyss.
Greek officials said the failure to strike a deal in Brussels was the fault of the International Monetary Fund, the country’s firmest creditor, as Athens edges closer to the euro zone exit door.
“At the core of the negotiations is a simple question: How much of an adjustment has to be made by Greece, how much has to be made by its official creditors?” Blanchard wrote.
“Greek citizens, through a democratic process, have indicated that there were some reforms they do not want,” he added, alluding to the anti-austerity far-left Syriza party that swept to power in January in a snap election.
“We believe that these reforms are needed, and that, absent these reforms, Greece will not be able to sustain steady growth, and the burden of debt will become even higher.