Martin Jaeger

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble insists that the discussion for a possible Greek debt relief might take place after 2018, even though he has already expressed his optimism regarding an agreement between Greece and its leaders in Eurogroup meeting to be held on May 24.

the spokesman of the German Finance ministry, Martin Jaeger, sent a message to Greek government saying that Greece should fully implement its commitments to the third Memorandum adding that Athens has still a lot of work to do in order to get the 2 bln tranche.

“Of course Greece must implement the Memorandum” said Martin Jaeger to journalists during a press conference in Berlin.

The European Commission on Wednesday released its assessment on a Greek plan for the new ESM bailout program. A day after the IMF released its report on the sustainability of the Greek debt and its estimation that Greece would need an extensive write-off of its debt from EU official creditors, the EC made public its position on the Greek debt.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble might meet Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis in Berlin on Tuesday after receiving a request for a meeting from his Greek counterpart, Schaeuble's spokesman Martin Jaeger said on Friday.

Germany views the role of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in negotiations over Greece's reforms as completely necessary, a spokesman for the finance ministry in Berlin said on Friday.

"We believe it is absolutely essential that the IMF participates,» finance ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger told a regular government news conference.

Germany's finance ministry expressed frustration on Monday at the lack of progress on Greece's reform plans, saying Berlin would be patient but clearly Athens should make the next move.

A teleconference of eurozone Finance Ministry officials on Wednesday concluded that much more work needs to be done before a deal can be reached with the country?s creditors while Greece?s envoy in the negotiations currently taking place in Paris said any decision must be reached on a ?political level.?

The German finance ministry has limited expectations regarding the Greece crisis at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers on Friday in Riga, a spokesman for the finance ministry in Berlin said on Wednesday.

Germany has "modest expectations" for a conference call of euro zone deputy finance ministers this afternoon and does not expect more to come out of it than an interim assessment of Greece's situation, a spokesman for the German finance ministry said.

By Lefteris Papadimas & Caroline Copley

Greece's biggest creditor Germany said on Monday that the euro zone would give Athens no further financial aid until it has a more detailed list of reforms and some are enacted into law, adding to scepticism over plans presented last week.