Schäuble: “Yes” to an aid package for Athens, “no” to a haircut

Speaking to CNBC, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble clarified today Friday that any further limited assistance to Greece will not include a new debt haircut.
 
Speaking ahead of the meeting of G20 finance ministers taking place in Sydney, Australia, Schäuble said that "if Greece needs further limited financial aid at the end of the year, when the current aid package ends, we are ready to do so provided it has met its obligations. Until then, Greece is on the right track."
 
The German finmin clarified that there will not be another haircut similar to that which led to losses of 53.5% for private investors holding Greek bonds.
 
He added that both Greece and the rest of the Eurozone are on the right track. "The nervousness of financial markets as to whether the euro will remain a stable currency has been overcome and that is absolutely right because the euro remains one of the most stable currencies worldwide."
 
Lagarde: We all celebrate for the primary surplus of Greece
 
Speaking on the Q&A show of the Australian state channel ABC, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said that Greece overcame the difficult part and has entered a growth trajectory.
 

She added that due to the recovery "we all celebrate for the primary surplus of Greece, if I am not mistaken the first since 1943."
 
Lagarde responded to a question from the audience who participated in the discussion and said that the measures imposed by the troika in Greece "hit both Greece and Europe with their failures but this was helped by the information given on Greek economy which did not correspond to reality."
 
The IMF chief spoke of a "long journey" with many sacrifices on the part of the Greeks, but the harsh measures were necessary for the Greek economy to recover.