Athens - Greece is stepping up efforts to find allies in the US and Russia as cash reserves run dry while an agreement on additional funding from the country’s euro partners still looks like weeks away.
Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis met with International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Christine Lagarde in Washington last week and reiterated Greece would repay her institution about e450 million (R5.8 billion) on Thursday.
Varoufakis was scheduled to meet Nathan Sheets, the US Treasury undersecretary for international affairs, yesterday before Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras heads to Moscow today to discuss food exports.
Greece and the euro zone authorities are negotiating a package of measures proposed by the government to repair the economy, a condition for the release of more bailout funds. Technical discussions with representatives of its creditors, known as the Brussels Group, resumed yesterday.
“Talks will be more effective and there will be topics established in order to reach deals faster and to reach better quality deals,” Varoufakis told reporters after his meeting with Lagarde.
“The Greek government always fulfils its obligations and will continue doing so.”
A meeting of the euro region finance ministers on April 24 must reach an initial accord on Greece, Varoufakis said in an interview with Naftemporiki newspaper. The ministers and central bankers are scheduled to hold informal discussions that day in the Latvian capital, Riga.
Greek officials sent more details on the budget and economic proposals last week, including combating tax evasion and streamlining public administration.
The country would not default on payments to the IMF this week even as a lack of bailout disbursements had left government coffers nearly empty, another minister said.
Alternate Finance Minister Dimitris Mardas said in an interview on Mega TV on Saturday that there was money for the payment of salaries, pensions and whatever else was needed. The government also has a short-term debt auction on April 8 to refinance e1.4bn of six-month notes due on April 14.
Tsipras, meanwhile, will visit Moscow, with Russia ready to discuss easing restrictions on Greek food products, according to Russian government officials.
Tsipras would meet President Vladimir Putin to discuss relations between the EU and Russia, tourism, energy, investment and trade, the Greek premier’s office said.
Bloomberg