Athens Considers IMF's Withdrawal From Greek Bailout Program to Break Deadlock

© REUTERS / Alkis KonstantinidisGreek national flags are displayed for sale at the entrance of a one Euro shop in Athens
Greek national flags are displayed for sale at the entrance of a one Euro shop in Athens - Sputnik International
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Greek authorities expect that potential withdrawal of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from the country's bailout program could allow to end the deadlock in the discussions of the issue between the parties to the program.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Thursday, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said that the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) would supervise the bailout program if the IMF made a decision to end its participation in it.

Potential withdrawal of the fund from the bailout program, could decrease the level of disagreements between the participants, the Ekathimerini newspaper reported on Friday, citing sources in the Greek prime minister's office.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (R) leave after a statement at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, December 16, 2016. - Sputnik International
Merkel Meets Tsipras Amid Growing Anger at Greek Bailout Standoff
The newspaper added that its sources estimated that the European institutions could supervise the bailout program without the Washington-based financial institution.

The Greek debt crisis erupted in 2010 with a number of austerity packages adopted by the parliament and several bailout payments provided by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF. The loans, however, only resulted in increasing country’s debt.

In July 2015, Athens signed a deal with its main creditors for a third bailout package. In exchange for that loan worth 86 billion euros ($91 billion at the current exchange rates), the government agreed to impose spending cuts and tax increases that have proven unpopular.

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