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by Maria Spiliopoulou
ATHENS, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Greece's request for a debt relief to make its debt load sustainable will not necessarily lead to the signing of a fourth bailout program, Greek national news agency AMNA reported on Wednesday, quoting Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos.
"It does not arise from any discussion with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that debt relief would be granted to Greece only if the country accepted a fourth bailout. The question is whether they will participate in the current program," Tsakalotos told the Greek parliament's economic committee on the 2017 draft budget.
The Greek official expressed confidence that Greece will secure soon a solution on its debt. He stressed that several sides within international creditors today acknowledge that debt relief would be a significant step in counterbalancing recession and supporting sustainable growth.
Athens calls for a swift conclusion of the second review of Greece's third bailout program which starts this week, and at least some initial decisions on a settlement for the debt by the end of the year.
However, some creditors do not appear ready to start discussion on debt relief by year end. Enditem
