Greek delegates are meeting with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde in Washington on Sunday. Greek Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis, Greek Central Bank Governor Yannis Stournaras and the prime minister’s adviser S. Papastavrou are the Greek delegates that are expected to present Greece’s case for an early exit from the bailout from the IMF. On her part, Ms. Lagarde has already expressed an interest on continued “precautionary support” for Greece.

The meeting is crucial, bearing in mind that there will be a Eurogroup meeting in Luxembourg on Monday.

Greece’s international creditors so far have accepted the Greek position for an exit from the bailout, however both the EU and the IMF appear to agree on a transitional phase with the participation of the European Support Mechanism (ESM).

On its part, the Greek side wants the IMF to exit Greece when the loan agreement with the Europeans ends on December 31. While Greece hopes to put an end to regular foreign supervision of the Greek economy it would not refuse a possible support line, but it doesn’t consider the IMF’s suggestion for a disbursement of 15 billion euros necessary. Ms. Lagarde’s “precautionary support” would involve a safety net that would deal with the markets and other factors that could derail the Greek economy.

Ultimately, the Greek government believes that Greece can be autonomous.