The spokesperson of the German FinMin, V.Schauble spoke of the leaked discussion between P.Thomsen and D.Velculescu concerning the progress of the evaluation of third Greek bailout deal; "For us, these talks don΄t exist"
He went on to state that the evaluation could be completed by Easter “although there are many difficulties”. He also repeated the standard position of the German FinMin that a haircut is not even an issue.
M.Jeger said that “It is not natural to tap friendly discussions and then publicize their content”.
Further on he underlined that there will be no disagreement between Germany and the IMF over Greece. He re-confirmed that Berlin believes that the IMF must keep participating in the bailout program.
According to Wikileaks revelations, P.Thomsen proposed to put pressure on A.Merkel by suggesting that a possible departure of the IMF from the Troika will be seen as a negative development thus bringing her into a position where she will have to answer discomforting questions within the German parliament.
Berlin is very eager to keep the IMF in the Greek program, mainly for internal political reasons but it is adamant that a debt haircut is out of the question. The IMF has repeatedly stated that a haircut and/or a re-profiling of the debt is necessary.
On Tuesday Mme Lagarde is scheduled to meet with A.Merkel in Berlin, given the recent developments their talks gain additional importance.