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Athens's European lenders last week suspended short term debt
relief for the nation after Tsipras's leftist administration
granted a one-off Christmas bonus to pensioners without
consulting creditors.
Greece is following reforms outlined in a bailout program worth
up to 86 billion euros. It is its third since 2010, and regular
reviews of reforms and approval by lenders are vital for Athens
to continue receiving tranches of financial aid.
"Our aim is to conclude the second review in a timely manner so
there is no question hovering over the positive momentum (of the
economy)," Tsipras told a conference in Athens.
"Greece now has the basic preconditions in place which would
allow it to autonomously enter money markets in 2017."
The country was on the cusp of strong recovery after seven years
of deep recession, Tsipras said at the launching of an equity
fund in cooperation with the European Investment Bank, the
long-term financing arm of the European Commission.
Tsipras said the economy was on course for rebounding by 2.7
percent in 2017 and 3.1 percent in 2018.
"It's my deep conviction ... there isn't a European institution
which would want this roadmap disrupted, of emerging from this
deep tunnel the Greek economy found itself in for many years,"
he said.
"Nobody would want to revisit the uncertainty over the country’s
prospects, and certainly nobody would want to discourage
investors who are starting to regain confidence, thus weakening
the prospects of recovery," he said.
On Wednesday, Greece and euro zone negotiators discussed
guarantees that Athens could offer to make sure the pensioner
payout was a one-off measure not to be replicated, euro zone and
Greek officials told Reuters.
(Reporting by Michele Kambas; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
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