Greece threatens to go to IMF if EU fails to deliver aid pla
President of European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso (R) and visiting Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou attend a press conference after their meeting at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 17, 2010. (Xinhua/Wu Wei)
BRUSSELS, March 18 (Xinhua) — Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou Thursday called for a clear European Union (EU) aid plan for his debt-laden country or he would turn to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Greece might not need money from the EU, but a clear aid plan would thwart speculation, Papandreou told the European Parliament here.
\”When you have that instrument in place, that could be enough to tell the markets: hands off, no speculation,\” Papandreou said at a press conference at the parliament.
The prime minister said Greece had put forward additional austerity measures in early March and its tough austerity program \”cannot sustain\” if the market did not act positively and the country had to borrow money at higher rates to refinance its debt.
He warned that, if the EU could not agree on an aid plan, Greece might have to turn to the IMF for help.
\”We have talked to the IMF, they would have asked us for nothing more,\” he said.
Earlier on Monday, Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said after the monthly meeting of Eurozone finance ministers that the ministers \”clarified modalities enabling a decision on coordinated action and which could be activated swiftly in the case of need\”.
But Juncker said the final decision on how to help Greece was \”up to the European Council\” but that might not happen until the Council\’s next meeting on March 25-26.
\”I think it\’s an opportunity to make a decision next week at the summit,\” Papandreou told press conference at the parliament.
Papandreou also said he agreed with IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn that a European Monetary Fund (EMF) proposed by the EU might not be an immediate solution to Greek\’s debt crisis.
Strauss-Kahn said Wednesday at the European Parliament that talk of an EMF for future crisis prevention was a \”distraction\” from urgent problems in Greece.
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Greece urges EU to provide aid
MOSCOW, March 18 (Xinhua) — The first reactor of Iran\’s long-delayed Bushehr nuclear power plant will be launched this summer, said Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Thursday. \”The first power generating unit will be launched as early as this summer,\” said Putin at a meeting on nuclear industry in southern Russian city of Volgodonsk. Earlier this month, the Iranian nuclear agency chief said the Bushehr nuclear power plant would be ready within a few months. Iran handed over the Bushehr project, started by German firm Siemens in the 1970s, to Russia in 1995. The launch of Bushehr has been postponed frequently in recent years. The West has been accusing Iran of secretly building nuclear weapons under the disguise of a civilian program. Tehran denies the charge, saying the program is for peaceful nuclear energy. http://www.tbogg.com
MOSCOW, March 17 (Xinhua) — Russian police killed four militants in the troubled southern republic of Chechnya, Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday, citing Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. A group of militants were trapped as police conducted an operation in a mountainous and wooded area in the Vedeno district, Kadyrov was quoted as saying. The gunmen put up armed resistance and four of them were gunned down, he said. Russia\’s restive North Caucasus republics, particularly Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia, have been plagued by violence stemming from Islamist militants and criminal groups. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev highlighted security and economic problems in the Muslim-dominated regions late last year and ordered measures to end militant violence, clan rivalries, and pervasive corruption there. http://www.zokn.com
MOSCOW, March 18 (Xinhua) — Preparation on a new strategic arms reduction treaty (START) to be signed by Russia and the United States has reached final stage, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday. Lavrov made the announcement at a joint news conference with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after bilateral arms treaty talks. \”We are happy about the work the negotiators have done to implement the presidents\’ instructions. There is every reason to believe that we have approached the final stage in the finish stretch,\” said Lavrov. The Russian top diplomat also said delegations from both countries will soon report on the completion of their arms treaty talks, after which they will then discuss over the date and venue for the signing of the START treaty. \”We are making substantial progress on arms treaty talks,\” said Clinton, adding that she hoped negotiations would finish soon. \”We have made real strides in the relationship over the past year,\” said Clinton commenting on the efforts to \”reset\” bilateral relationship proposed by U.S. President Barack Obama after assuming office. Russia and the United States have been working on a new arms control deal since Russian president Dmitry Medvedev and Obama met in April last year, in an effort to \”reset\” their ties plunged to an unprecedented low during the final days of former U.S. Bush administration. Despite rounds of negotiations, the two sides failed to reach a pact before the original 1991 START expired in December last year. An outline of the new pact, agreed by both presidents, includes slashing nuclear warheads to 1,500-1,675 and delivery vehicles to 500-1,000. Speaking of Iranian nuclear issue, Lavrov said Moscow and Washington would continue to cooperate in seeking solution to this issue. \”We have common aims — not to allow the violation of non- proliferation regime, to eliminate concerns that exist around the nuclear activity of Iran and ensure full cooperation of Iran with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),\” said Lavrov. He also voiced confidence in possible political and diplomatic work in that direction in the future. Clinton also hoped that the Iranian nuclear issue will be settled using diplomacy. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced earlier Thursday that the first reactor of Iran\’s long-delayed Bushehr nuclear power plant will be launched in summer. Clinton was in Moscow for a two-day visit. She would also attend a meeting of the Middle East quartet on Friday that groups Russia, the United States, the United Nations and the European Union.
MOSCOW, March 18 (Xinhua) — Preparation on a new strategic arms reduction treaty (START) to be signed by Russia and the United States has reached final stage, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday. Lavrov made the announcement at a joint news conference with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton after bilateral arms treaty talks. \”We are happy about the work the negotiators have done to implement the presidents\’ instructions. There is every reason to believe that we have approached the final stage in the finish stretch,\” said Lavrov. The Russian top diplomat also said delegations from both countries will soon report on the completion of their arms treaty talks, after which they will then discuss over the date and venue for the signing of the START treaty. \”We are making substantial progress on arms treaty talks,\” said Clinton, adding that she hoped negotiations would finish soon. \”We have made real strides in the relationship over the past year,\” said Clinton commenting on the efforts to \”reset\” bilateral relationship proposed by U.S. President Barack Obama after assuming office. Russia and the United States have been working on a new arms control deal since Russian president Dmitry Medvedev and Obama met in April last year, in an effort to \”reset\” their ties plunged to an unprecedented low during the final days of former U.S. Bush administration. Despite rounds of negotiations, the two sides failed to reach a pact before the original 1991 START expired in December last year. An outline of the new pact, agreed by both presidents, includes slashing nuclear warheads to 1,500-1,675 and delivery vehicles to 500-1,000. Speaking of Iranian nuclear issue, Lavrov said Moscow and Washington would continue to cooperate in seeking solution to this issue. \”We have common aims — not to allow the violation of non- proliferation regime, to eliminate concerns that exist around the nuclear activity of Iran and ensure full cooperation of Iran with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),\” said Lavrov. He also voiced confidence in possible political and diplomatic work in that direction in the future. Clinton also hoped that the Iranian nuclear issue will be settled using diplomacy. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced earlier Thursday that the first reactor of Iran\’s long-delayed Bushehr nuclear power plant will be launched in summer. Clinton was in Moscow for a two-day visit. She would also attend a meeting of the Middle East quartet on Friday that groups Russia, the United States, the United Nations and the European Union.
