Christine Lagarde, the chief of International Monetary Fund (IMF), has come down heavily over the reports suggesting the body's alleged efforts in pushing Greece towards default. She has also dismissed the reports referring those as 'simply nonsence.'
IMF conducts negotiations in good faith ignoring threats and do not communicate through leaks, cites Ms Lagarde in a letter addressed to Alexis Tsipras, the Greek Prime Minister. The letter has been forwarded following a Wikileaks publication containing transcript of IMF officials discussing bailout negotiations, reports BBC.
In the letter, Ms. Lagarde has also rebuffed Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's call to replace top officials related to the country's bailout. She argues saying IMF is a good distance away from an agreement allowing additional credit to the Europe's most indebted state. Ms. Lagarde has placed the arguments in response to the accusations made by the Greek Prime Minister following the Wikileaks scandal, according to a report published in Bloomberg.
IMF officials have been witnessed to complain that Athens moves only with the peril of default. The officials have also been witnessed to stress the need to drive the threat of default while getting the Greeks to act. The document dates March 19 and has been leaked on Saturday by the whistle-blowing website, reports Business Standard. The leaked transcript controversy has made Ms. Lagarde concerned over whether to achieve progress under such circumstances. However, she has decided allowing the IMF team returning to Athens to continue debt discussions. IMF may only support a deal ensuring robust growth for Greece while allowing tackling the country's debt structure. Greece has agreed a multi billion dollar bailout last year with the EU and IMF, essential for the country to avoid bankruptcy while staying in the Eurozone. Greece, EU and IMF have been reviewing the bailout while assessing the country's progress in implementing money saving reforms. The review aims to unlock further loans and is scheduled to resume this week. The negotiation talks have been witnessed to get suspended twice since January due to disagreement among the lenders over the estimated size of Greece's fiscal gap by 2018. The lenders have also expressed different opinions on pension reforms and management of the bad debts. Furthermore, Ms. Lagarde has stressed the need to bring the negotiations towards a speedy conclusion for the sake of the Greek people.
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