Greece, on April 2, ruled out a restructuring of the country's debt, in response to a report by German Der Spiegel magazine that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is pressing for a restructure.

 

Speaking to Reuters news agency from Italy, Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said that "there is absolutely no chance of a restructuring of the Greek debt", adding that those who talk about a restructuring "fail to understand that the costs would much outweigh the benefits."

In Brussels, EU Commission spokesperson Jens Mesters said that "all support measures are in place, and there is no reason now to start thinking of this possibility of restructuring Greece's debt." In Washington, the IMF denied the report and reiterated its support of the Greek government's position. "As we have said consistently, the IMF supports the Greek government's position of no debt restructuring and its determination to fully service its debt obligations. Any reports claiming otherwise are wrong," an IMF spokeswoman told Reuters.

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