Bari

Not for the first time in recent years, Greece's fate is being decided outside of its borders. Representatives of the country's lenders, in the formation known as the Washington Group, met at the sidelines of the G7 summit in Bari, Italy, to discuss debt relief. The next milestone in this crucial discussion will be at the May 22 Eurogroup in Brussels.

The Finance Leaders of the countries of G-7 focused on cyber crime on the today's meeting in Bari, Italy, and decided to redouble their efforts to make cyberspace more secure, reported Reuters.

Although no decision was reached on the Greek debt at the meeting of the so-called Washington Group in Bari, Italy, on Friday, Greece's creditors - the eurozone countries on the one side and the International Monetary Fund on the other - have come quite close on a political and a technical level to what the final agreement should look like.

The IMF has not changed its stance regarding its participation in the Greek program, an official with knowledge of talks between Greece and its creditors on the matter in Washington, Brussels and Berlin told protothema. The source said that there were signs of concession in an effort between the parties involved to reach a compromise that would solve the deadlock.

The International Monetary Fund and eurozone government lenders need more time to reach an agreement on debt relief for Greece because the eurozone is still not sufficiently clear in its intentions, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said on Friday.

German Foreign Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has confirmed that the issue of Greece was discussed on the sidelines of a meeting of G7 finance ministers and central bankers in the Italian city of Bari.

"I expect a solution," Schaeuble said on Friday.
 

On the fringes of the G7 council of finance ministers in Bari, Italy, Greece's creditors will on Friday try to find a compromise solution on the Greek debt that will allow for the return of the International Monetary Fund to the Greek program, a day after the European Commission downwardly revised its forecast for Greek growth this and next year.

The US government has aligned with the position of the IMF on the Greek problem, believing a solution must be reached regarding the debt issue, according Michalis Ignatiou. Greece will be on the agenda of talks at the G7 Summit to take place in Bari, Italy on May 11 and 13.

After the agreement reached between Greece and its creditors at a staff level, the IMF and the Europeans are trying to find common grounds in an effort to achieve a solution on restructuring the Greek debt, a necessary precondition for the IMF to continue to take part in the Greek program.

Land of Gods, an Indian-Serbian co-production, has won the best foreign film and best director Grand Prix in Bari, Italy.

The movie was directed by Serbian filmmaker Goran Paskaljevic.