Lagarde: Europe will honor its commitments towards Greece

Calls once again the European partners to honor their promises to Greece - Telephone contact with the Brazilian Finance Minister.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde said she is confident that Europe will meet its commitments for a debt relief to Greece if the country complies with the terms of the rescue package, Reuters agency reports.

Calling once again the European partners to deliver on their promises and meet the financing needs of Greece, she said that "I have no reason to believe that the Europeans will not honor their commitments towards Greece. The format of further measures and assistance will certainly be discussed at a later stage."

Speaking to a small group of reporters, Lagarde was asked repeatedly about the possibility of a haircut on the Greek debt and the reactions of Germany. The general manager was emphatic and even talked several times about the need for absolute support of Greece by the European Union.

She also said that Greece has made significant progress, urged the Greek authorities to continue their efforts in all areas, especially mentioning combating tax evasion and proceeding with the necessary reforms.

The IMF chief confirmed that she spoke with the Brazilian FINMIN. "I had a conversation with the Brazilian Finance Minister who said that the Brazilian government supports the IMF program for Greece and if it was asked again on the issue of disbursing the loan tranche, it would support the program."

In its recent report, the IMF says that "the Europeans have pledged to help bring the Greek debt to 110% of GDP by the end of 2022" and calls for immediate intervention by the EU with measures of 7.6 billion euros (approximately 4% of GDP) for relief in order to enable the Fund to continue funding the aid program for Greece.