Greece's New Government Dropped Calls For A Debt Write-off

Greece's new government dropped calls for a write-off of its foreign debt, a surprising debut towards the negotiations with creditors at the end of Februrary, according to Financial Times.

Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis proposed ending a standoff with its official creditors by swapping the debt for growth-linked bonds, calling his plan a "menu of debt swaps", which meant Athens would no longer call for a write-off of Greece's 315 billion euros of foreign debt.

"What I'll say to our partners is that we are putting together a combination of a primary budget surplus and a reform agenda" Varoufakis told Finincial Times. "I'll say, 'Help us to reform our country and give us some fiscal space to do this, otherwise we shall continue to suffocate and become a deformed rather than a reformed Greece'."

Athens planned to target wealthy tax-evaders and post primary budget surpluses of 1 to 1.5 percent of gross domestic product, he told the paper, even if it meant his party, Syriza, could not fulfil all the spending promises on which it was elected Late on Monday, Varoufakis issued a statement saying that comments had been misinterpreted.

He gave no details but he was widely reported in Greek media to be backing down from the government's aim of reducing the debt.

"The government and the finance minister will not back down, irrespective of how grieved some people are by our determination" he said in the statement. - Istanbul