The meeting of the Greek government officials with the troika of international creditors is to take place in Paris from September 3-5. European Commission Spokesperson Antoine Colombani said that this meeting will be of a “preparatory” nature and will in no way replace the visit of international creditors to Greece in the middle of September.

“The evaluation outside Greek borders is proof of the climate of confidence that we have achieved with our institutional partners,” said liberal New Democracy government spokesman Sofia  Voultepsi in an earlier statement.

Deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos said that the troika will soon withdraw its presence from Greece. “It is very important that there presence in Greece will be brief and a part of contacts will be made in other countries. “Troika’s existence would be no longer justified. The country will emerge from this difficult situation and will become once again a normal European country, with the obligations of a member-state of the Eurozone, as this is the case with every member-state. The return to normality and equality should now be our goal. In this sense, the decisions regarding the setting of the meetings are a clear political message,” he said.

Mr. Venizelos also said that he had repeatedly objected to the practice of the troika being constantly in Athens and to its involvement in the everyday operation of ministries and state agencies.

IMF Chief says that the jury is still out regarding Greek debt

International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde said that a review of Greece’s economy over the coming weeks will determine whether Athens’ debt stock is sustainable without help from creditors. “I would not pass judgment on whether or not debt relief is or is not needed or what form the European support will take,” she told journalists during a briefing. “I think the jury is out.”

This contradicts statements made by top IMF officials over the last two years concerning the necessity for some sort of debt relief for Greece so as not to crush the country’s fragile economy. There is speculation as to whether the IMF is softening its stance on Greece’s need for debt relief. Some IMF economists have even privately said that Europe needs to restructure Greece’s debt to put the country back onto a viable path, however Germany has been reticent to give the country more favorable bond terms.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Europe has already written an escape clause into its 2012 debt-relief vow making it a condition that there needs to be “a full implementation of all conditions contained in the program.” Greece is still struggling to meet all of its program targets despite making one of the sharpest economic adjustments in modern history. Ms. Lagarde regards the budget targets to cut debt levels as “very ambitious.”