ATHENS (MNI) – Greece’s Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos today
denied media reports that say the Greek government is in talks with its
international creditors to arrange a default that would erase half of
its sovereign debt.

“It is very sad that I am forced to deny reports in the Greek press
on a daily basis which say so breezily that the country will go into a
coordinated default,” Venizelos said in a statement. “These reports are
being recycled by the international media and are being picked up by
politicians, journalists and scholars who do not represent the views of
the Eurozone, the European Commission, the ECB or the International
Monetary Fund.”

Venizelos was referring to stories in the Greek press during the
past few days that have suggested the Greek government is in secret
talks with the EU and the IMF for a haircut of up to 50% on its
outstanding debt, within the context of a coordinated default.

“I have made detailed statements during my trip to Washington [for
the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank over the weekend], which
clearly underline the severity of the situation but also prescribe the
[remedies] that lie ahead for Greece,” Venizelos said.

Meanwhile, Greece is facing yet another delay in disbursement of an
overdue loan tranche of E8 billion, after it emerged Monday that
inspectors from the European Commission, ECB and IMF — who abruptly
halted their inspection mission earlier this month — have not yet set a
date to return to Athens.

Their approval of Greece’s planned measures, and certification that
Athens is in compliance with the conditions imposed in return for aid,
is required in order for the tranche to be disbursed. Without it, the
government is expected to run out of cash by mid-October, according to
the Greek Finance Ministry.

Earlier today, Amadeu Altafaj, the spokesman for EU Economic and
Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn, said that the decision on
whether to pay the next tranche will now not be decided at the Eurogroup
meeting in Luxembourg next Monday, because the examination of Greece’s
compliance has not yet started.

“We are at the moment of truth for Greece,” Altafaj said. “This is
the last chance to avoid the collapse of the Greek economy. The criteria
must me fully met in order to allocate the funds.”

–Angelika Papamiltiadou; a_papamiltiadou@hotmail.com

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