Strauss-Kahn Says Everyone Must Accept Losses on Greece (default is done )
PARIS (Dow Jones)--The former International Monetary Fund's Managing Director, Dominique Strauss Kahn, Sunday said Greece is unable to pay its debt and its creditors will have to take losses on the debt they hold.
"Greece got poorer, we can say Greeks will pay on their own, but they can't," Strauss Kahn said in an interview on French TV channel TF1. "There is a loss and it must be taken by governments and banks," he said.
"Governments haven't solved the problem, they just delayed it, and the snowball grows," the former chief of the IMF added in his first comments since stepping down from his post.
Strauss Kahn made his comments as euro-zone governments increase pressure on their Greek partner to act more decisively to meet fiscal targets after talks with visiting international inspectors were abruptly suspended earlier this month as it appeared the country would overshoot its budget deficit for this year.
Analysts and rating agencies, such as Moody's, have recently said the Greek government debt is unsustainable and the probability of a haircut--a reduction of the principal owed to someone--for Greek bondholders is increasing. European Governments and Central Bank's Officials have dismissed this possibility.
Separately, Strauss Kahn said he regretted what happened in a New York hotel in May when he was charged with sexual aggression by a hotel maid. The whole incident didn't involve any violence or anything illegal, he said, though he acknowledged it was a "moral mistake". Strauss Kahn was cleared of charges in late August, after he had quit his job at the IMF.
During the Sunday interview, Strauss Kahn said he intended to run for President in the 2012 elections before the New York incident. "I missed my appointment with the French people," he said. |
