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 In an interview with Reuters, IMF Managing Director Christine
Lagarde avoided any pointed criticism of Greek Prime Minister Alexis
Tsipras but still hinted at frustrations as she noted that Greece's
economy had been on the road to recovery before the current
left-wing Syriza party came to power.
Lagarde was asked which should come first, commitments to reform by
Athens or relief on its debts from euro zone governments.
"Given where we are, my suspicion is it would be much preferable to
see a deliberate move towards reforms (and) for that to be followed
through by the other side of the balance," Lagarde said.
Greece's government had pushed for debt relief in months of
negotiations with its European and IMF lenders on a cash-for-reform
deal before Athens abruptly called a referendum.
A defiant Tsipras urged Greeks on Wednesday to reject an
international bailout deal - which calls for even greater austerity
measures - wrecking any prospect of repairing broken relations with
EU partners before the referendum on Sunday that may decide Greece's
future in Europe.
"We do not have a choice as to who represents a country," Lagarde
said when asked about the trustworthiness of the Greeks. "And we
take all governments, duly elected ... as the legitimate partner in
the negotiations."
CHANGES AND UNCERTAINTY FROM GREECE
Less than 24 hours before his combative address, Tsipras had written
a conciliatory letter to creditors asking for a new bailout that
would accept many of their terms.
Lagarde declined to comment on the latest offer from Athens or
comment directly on whether she viewed Tsipras as a reliable
negotiating partner, though she hinted at growing frustration with
the Greek leader's public negotiating stance.
"We have received so many 'latest' offers, which themselves have
been validated, invalidated, changed, amended, over the course of
the last few days, that it's quite uncertain exactly where the
latest proposal stands," she said.
"I think there is a democratic process that is underway, and that
should result in hopefully more clarity, less uncertainty as to what
is the determination of the Greek people, and what is the authority
of the government," she said about the referendum.
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Long lines at cash machines this week provided a stark visual symbol
of the pressure on Tsipras, who came to power in January vowing to
end austerity and protect the poor.
Lagarde said Greece had made progress on many difficult reforms and
had started to return to growth before Syriza came to power.
"What I find really concerning is the fact that after those years,
as growth was beginning to pick up, as the country was beginning to
generate a surplus, then suddenly there is this massive
backtracking, which puts us backwards," she said.
The IMF has been criticized for breaking its own rules in lending to
Greece and endorsing austerity measures proposed by the European
Commission and the European Central Bank, the IMF's partners in the
troika of Greece's lenders.
Lagarde, who became chief of the IMF four years ago, as the IMF was
in the midst of massive bailouts across the euro zone, defended the
international lender's track record, saying it helped other
countries that received its support including Ireland and Portugal.
"It is the case that during the crisis, sometimes, there had to be
creativity, new processes," she said, "but I think we've always
tried to respect the rules and to be as even-handed as we could."
(Reporting by Anna Yukhananov; Additional reporting by Jason Lange;
Editing by Leslie Adler)
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