Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said that Greece can return to bond markets as soon as creditors restructure the country’s state debt.
“The goal is to return to the markets. If there is a good decision on the debt issue, Greece could return to markets shortly after debt restructuring,” Tsipras said in a Wall Street Journal interview on Tuesday.
However, creditors require that the first review on the progress of the bailout program is completed successfully before any talk on easing the Greek debt.
Despite his reservations on some of the reforms required – such as tax hikes and pension cuts – the Greek prime minister pledged that his government will implement them.
The Greek prime minister also said that the refugee crisis in Europe might hinder efforts to turn around Greece’s economy. The refugee influx has hurt the tourism industry, while the economic crisis has limited the country’s effectiveness in dealing with the refugee issue.
“Our goal is to agree with our (European) partners that if the (refugee) situation deteriorates, the funds that Greece will spend will be excluded from the calculation of the deficit,” Tsipras told the Wall Street Journal, referring to deficit targets agreed to under the bailout program.
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