WASHINGTON, D.C. – Days after US President Donald Trump met Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras at the White House, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has backed debt relief for Greece, which the Premier said can’t pay back back 326 billion euros ($383.67 billion) in three international bailouts at the same time he said a recovery is underway.
Greece is locked in talks with envoys from the Troika of the European Union-European Central Bank-European Stability Mechanism (EU-ECB-ESM) over unfinished terms of a third rescue package, this one for 86 billion euros ($101.21 billion) that Tsipras sought and accepted in July, 2015 after saying he would do neither.
The Washington, D.C.-based International Monetary Fund (IMF,) which took part in two first bailouts of 240 billion euros ($282.47 billion), has stayed out of the third until the Troika okays debt relief but also wants more austerity measures it admitted haven’t worked.
Mnuchin took part in a meeting between Trump and Tsipras at the White House last week that also included talk about promoting investments in Greece, giving the US a bigger military presence in the country, which is anathema to Tsipras’ Radical Left SYRIZA party.
It was, reportedly, made clear at the meeting that Trump has made a strategic decision to support Greece as a reliable ally in the Eastern Mediterranean, Kathimerini said.
As a first step, the US may ask for an informal meeting of the IMF’s Executive Board to be convened – after German Chancellor Angela Merkel forms a new government as her country is the biggest contributor to the bailouts but also insisted on harsh austerity and has rejected debt relief. The US will reportedly squeeze her to relent now that she’s been re-elected and doesn’t have to explain herself to the electorate.
Tsipras and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde also talked and Mnuchin told Trump and Tsipras that Lagarde told him the discussions went well but, as usual, no details were given but Mnuchin said she will reiterate her support for Greek debt relief.
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Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: Europa credito urgente License: CC-BY-SA
Source: thenationalherald.com
