German Chancellor Angela Merkel clarified during a joint press conference with IMF Head Christine Lagarde, following their meeting in Berlin, Tuesday, that she was in favour of the IMF staying on board the Quartet delegation in reviewing the Greek adjustment program. Merkel reiterated the German position that any talk of a traditional haircut of the Greek debt could not be done in the Eurozone, adding however, that other ways could be employed to deal with the huge debt. ‘What is necessary at this point is for the review of the Quartet to be completed’, she underlined. On her part, Christine Lagarde stressed that the pace of privatisations agreed upon with Greece was slow, adding that the Fund would continue to support Greece. In an earlier interview, Tuesday, Lagarde told Bloomberg that talks with the Greek side would go on stressing that the Fund’s targets were to achieve fiscal stability in Greece and a viable debt, while aiding the Greek economy to become more competitive through the structural reforms needed.
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