PM calls for lower primary surpluses, says IMF's Athens office to close

The office of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Athens will close, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced on Tuesday, after a meeting with its managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, in Washington.

Commenting on the news, government sources said it signifies "the end of the crisis in the country."

Speaking with Georgieva, Mitsotakis raised the issue of the primary surplus target that Greece is required to maintain, saying it is time to discuss a lowering of that target for 2021.
"I believe the time has come for this discussion with our partners in the eurozone. We are a credible government, we are implementing reforms, we are in a low interest rate environment, our borrowing costs are lower than those of Italy. There is no reason to be limited by these high primary surpluses," he said at the meeting.