French Finance Minister Michel Sapin appeared optimistic that a deal between Greece and its lenders could be achieved soon, during a press conference in Washington. The French Minister insisted that the presence of the IMF in the program was necessary. ‘We used the presence of many politicians and financial officials to move forward’, he said commenting on the Greek program. He underlined that the contacts between officials in the US capital made him optimistic that a deal could be reached in the leading up to the EcoFin meeting on April 22 and 23 in Amsterdam. He warned that negotiations should not turn into a ‘cliff hanger’ again