Tsakalotos: As far as I know, the conference on Greece’s debt will take place

Did not specify when

Finance minister Euclid Tsakalotos claimed to be unaware of reports that the mini Eurogroup meeting to discuss the Greek debt, without Greece’s presence, will be cancelled.

In response to reporters on his way into a meeting of Syriza parliamentarians, Tsakalotos said: “From what I know, the conference on the debt will take place,” adding that he has no knowledge of a possible cancellation. However, he did not specify when the meeting would take place.

At the same time, Germany’s Finance Ministry issued an official statement denying reports by German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung that a mini Eurogroup summit was scheduled to take place in Berlin this Friday between the finance ministers of Europe’s leading economies and officials from the IMF, the ECB and the Commission to discuss the Greek debt and the broader issues of Greece.

According to the German Finance Ministry’s spokesperson, Friederike von Tiesenhausen, the meeting was postponed because it was decided that no emergency situation had arisen.

Süddeutsche Zeitung’s article had claimed that the “Washington Group” members, as the informal group has became known, was scheduled to take place on Friday in the presence of ECB and ESM representatives in order to discuss and reach an agreement concerning the serviceability of Greece’s debt and the IMF’s position concerning lower primary surplus targets.

Greek government sources claim that that the meeting was neither a surprise nor urgent, as the Washington Group convenes to discuss the Eurozone’s economic concerns, one of which includes the Greek issue.

The Greek government’s spokesperson Dimitris Tzanakopoulos stated that there was a possibility a deal might be reached by the December 5 EuroGroup deadline, though he added that its success depended on willingness from all sides.