Greece has urged its international creditors to conclude a key review swiftly, paving the way to unlock a new round of bailout funds. Around five billion euros are needed to repay the loans from previous bailouts.
Athens asked the review be concluded by mid-April. But its creditors are not that optimistic. Germany said the review would not be finished until late April, and Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, said the bailout is still a good distance away.
Greek two-year bond yields rose 2 percentage points to a one-month high on Monday. The WikiLeaks site on Saturday released what it said was the transcript of a March 19 conference call by three senior IMF officials. In it, they discuss tactics to press Greece, Germany and the European Union to reach a deal in April.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, said to lawmakers that he hoped leaked IMF transcripts prove to be "nonsense."
"I asked (International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde) whether this (leaked conversation) was the official position of the IMF. In her answer, Mrs. Lagarde called these tactics the same thing I did - 'nonsense.' I would like to stress that I completely agree with this characterization." "At the same time, I wonder whether all those who sit at the negotiating table agree with this characterization. Whether those who are sitting on the IMF's side of the table, agree (that these tactics are nonsense.) I hope that in the upcoming days we will not see what has come to light, come true," he said.