We are ready to pay IMF on 9 April, Greece minister says
Greek Herald Saturday 4th April, 2015
• Greece deputy finance minister, Dimitris Mardas, told Greece's Skai TV that the country was ready to pay
• Interior minister, Nikos Voutsis, said the country had the choice of repaying the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or paying salaries and pensions and would choose the latter
• German Chancellor Angela Merkel insists that Greece would only receive fresh funds if its list of reforms is accepted.
ATHENS - Greece has said it will repay a $489 million loan tranche to the IMF on time on April 9, seeking to quell fears of default.
Greece deputy finance minister, Dimitris Mardas, told Greece's Skai TV that the country was ready to pay. "We strive to be able to pay our obligations on time. We are ready to pay on 9 April," he said.
His remarks came after interior minister, Nikos Voutsis, said the country had the choice of repaying the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or paying salaries and pensions and would choose the latter.
Der Spiegel reported another finance official saying that Greece was unlikely to pay. The reports sparked immediate denials from the Greek government.
Greece is fast running out of cash and its euro zone and International Monetary Fund lenders have frozen bailout aid until the new leftist-led government reaches agreement on a package of reforms.
Greece's lenders have frozen aid until it implements reforms, currently being negotiated between the leftist government and the institutions, participating in its bailout program.
The last time Greece received bailout funds was in August 2014. The government has already borrowed from state entities to avoid a cash crunch.
The leftist government of Alexis Tsipras is expecting that the reforms package will be soon approved by the creditors' institutions, helping to unlock the remaining aid of 7.2 billion euros and lead to the return of some 1.9 billion euros in profits made by the European Central Bank (ECB) on Greek bonds.
But German Chancellor Angela Merkel insists that Greece would only receive fresh funds if its list of reforms is accepted.
Earlier this week, during a Euro Working Group (EWG) teleconference, the Greek side proposed a new list of economic reforms to its creditors including, among others, measures on taxation, privatizations, public sector, labor market and healthcare.
There is speculation that Greece is considering plans to nationalise its banks and start using a new currency as it continues to negotiates terms for its existing bailout, under which it has received no funds since August, says the Guardian.