ATHENS: Greece will make the next payment to the International Monetary Fund on June 5 as the country will have reached an agreement with its creditors by then, Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said on Tuesday.
In the last few days, there have been divergent comments from local officials on whether Athens will be able to meet its next tranche of €300 million ($US329 million) due June 5. Greece is scheduled to repay a total of €1.6 billion to the IMF over the period June 5-19.
Greece needs a deal as soon as possible so it can service its IMF debts, government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis told reporters on Monday. “To the extent that we are in a position to pay our obligations, we will pay our obligations,” he said, adding: “It’s the government’s responsibility to be in a position to pay its obligations.”
A delegation of Greek officials will resume negotiations in Brussels on Tuesday with the heads of the institutions overseeing the country’s loan program.
The meetings are expected to continue the whole week in a bid to end the impasse in the negotiations with the country’s creditors and unlock a much needed further amount of outstanding loans.