European Central Bank chief doubts Greece bailout deal

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi on Thursday expressed doubts about the chances of reaching a bailout deal with Greece.

"It will be very tough to achieve a solution for Greece," Draghi told the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore.

"This time, it's really difficult," he added.

Draghi said that he also did not think Russia would be able to aid Greece.

"I don't see it as a real risk, and they don't have the funds at hand," he said.

Greece has only until Sunday to reach agreement with its creditors or it will be out of funds.

Louka Katseli, head of the Greek banking association, said on Thursday that Greek banks have enough liquidity in cash machines to serve the public only through Monday. After that, if there is no deal with creditors, Greek banks will be obliged to operate with coupons that promise future payment.

Greece's stock exchange and banks will remain closed until July 13.

Late on Wednesday, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said that debt restructuring should be part of any agreement with the cash-strapped country.

"Any agreement with Greece must have two parts. One is the implementation of structural reforms and fiscal consolidation," Lagarde said.

"The other leg is debt restructuring, which we believe is needed in the case of Greece for it to have debt sustainability," she said.

But the German government has so far refused to consider any restructuring of Greek debt.

Greek government spokesman Gavriil Sakellaridis said on Thursday that there were "positive signs" that an agreement was close at hand. "The government is doing everything it can to obtain a deal," he said, in an interview with ANT1 TV.
 www.aa.com.tr
9/7/15
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