Stournaras: No tapping markets without Greek debt cut
Greece will not be able to return to credit markets as planned without debt relief, the struggling country’s central banker said late on Monday.
“If the Greek debt is not judged to be viable, the expected [return to the markets] in 2018 is not possible,” Bank of Greece Governor Yannis Stournaras told a business lobby.
“The talks must begin now and be concluded as soon as possible. Besides, the debt talks have been a pledge by the creditors since 2012, repeated last May, and still not fulfilled,” Stournaras said.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has said that with a debt relief deal, Greece could even return to the markets next year.
Athens has not issued long-term debt since a one-off sale in 2014, its sole attempt since the start of the crisis in 2010.
The debt issue has divided the country’s international creditors for months.
[AFP]
