Reuters: Lenders to unblock new loans, but say no to Greek debt relief

A German official said the IMF’s position was unacceptable

The euro zone is likely to say on Tuesday that Greece has passed the reforms needed to unblock 10 billion euros in new loans, but Athens won’t get debt relief because of differences between the European partners and the IMF, Reuters reports.

“I’m hopeful that we can finish the review and pay about a 10 billion euro loan tranche, which will take away some of the so-called Grexit pressure and hopefully brings private investors back to Greece,” Finnish Finance Minister Alexander Stubb said.

A German official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the IMF’s position was unacceptable and that a deal on Tuesday was unlikely.

Instead, Germany was counting on IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde convincing others in the Fund to drop their demands on a debt relief decision now and settle for a debt relief road-map that contains no firm commitments, but is conditional on reforms and data, as Reuters claims.