The four-page document, obtained by the Financial Times and released on Thursday, says that International Monetary Fund negotiators “cannot reach staff level agreement at this stage” on the new bailout package for Athens, although they will “participate in policy discussions”.
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This could mean that the worldwide lending body will not decide on whether to agree to a new lending program for Greece for months, or even leading into the next year.
The party members were meeting to settle differences over whether the government should accept a third bailout from its worldwide creditors.
Briefing reporters on condition of anonymity, the official said Greece needs to commit to reforms and creditors must provide debt relief – extending loan terms or reducing the debt outright – that will allow Greece to pay its bills over time.
However, they stressed that the fund takes part as usual in the negotiations and that its position on the debt is not new, with Managing Director Christine Lagarde having repeatedly called for a reduction.
“In 2010, the systemic waiver was applied as a restructuring of the debt in hands of the private creditors was needed to restore debt sustainability, which could have caused major contagion”, the minutes state.
Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos attends a meeting of the ruling radical left Syriza party’s central committee in Athens, on Thursday, July 30, 2015.
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The deepening crisis within Syriza is the most serious political challenge to Tsipras, who otherwise enjoys unrivaled domination of Greek politics and remains popular despite his sudden U-turn to accept stringent bailout terms.
