Alexis Tsipras fires warnings at IMF, Germany

February 11, 2017 11:38 pm | Updated 11:41 pm IST - Athens:

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Saturday warned the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble to “stop playing with fire” in the handling of his country’s debt.

Opening a meeting of his Syriza party, Mr. Tsipras said he was confident a solution would be found, a day after talks between Greece and its creditors ended in Brussels with no breakthrough.

He urged a change of course from the IMF. “We expect as soon as possible that the IMF revise its forecast.. so that discussions can continue at the technical level.”

Referring to Mr. Schaeuble, Mr. Tsipras also called for German Chancellor Angela Merkel to “encourage her Finance Minister to end his permanent aggressiveness” towards Greece.

Months of feuding with the IMF has raised fears of a new debt crisis.

Greece is embroiled in a row with its eurozone paymasters and the IMF over debt relief and budget targets that has rattled markets and revived talk of its place in the euro. Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem said progress had been made in the Brussels talks.

The Athens government faces debt repayments of €7 billion this summer that it cannot afford without defusing the feud that is holding up new loans from Greece’s €86 billion bailout.

Breaking the stalemate in the coming weeks is seen as paramount with elections in the Netherlands on March 15 and France in April through June threatening to make a resolution even more difficult.

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