Athens: The International Monetary Fund says Greece will need debt relief and 85 billion euros (USD 95 billion) in new financing through 2018 because its situation has deteriorated since it closed its banks June 29.
Greece and its creditors reached a bailout agreement Monday that requires Greece to enact painful budget cuts and economic reforms but allows it to keep using the euro currency.
But the IMF said Tuesday that "Greece's debt can now only be made sustainable through debt relief measures that go far beyond what Europe has been willing to consider so far."
Earlier this month, the IMF said Greece needed about 60 billion euros through 2018. But it says Greece's debts will peak over the next two years at 200 per cent of economic output, much higher than earlier estimates.
The options, the IMF said, include dramatically extending the terms of the loans, offering deeply discounted interest rates and writing down the debt something Greece's European creditors have resisted.
