Ministry of Finance

Washington wishes to play the role of an ?honest broker? in Greek government negotiations with the country's foreign lenders so that a solution can be reached as soon as possible, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday.

Defense Minister Panos Kammenos defended his decision to sign a 500-million-euro contract to upgrade five P-3B Orion aircraft. The story saw the light of day on Sunday's Proto Thema and has stirred controversy bearing in mind the fact that this is the largest arms investment in the last five years and comes at a time when Greece is struggling financially.

Finance Minister sources adamantly denied a report by the DPA on Monday claiming that IMF chief Christine Lagarde asked Greek FinMin Varoufakis to raise VAT rates and cut pensions in recession-plagued Greece.

The same sources also pointed out that the meeting, held in Washington D.C. on what was Easter Sunday in the US capital, was requested by the IMF director and not Varoufakis.

By Eleni Chrepa & Marcus Bensasson

Greece is stepping up efforts to find allies in the U.S. and Russia as cash reserves run dry while an agreement on additional funding from the country?s euro partners still looks like weeks away.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis confirmed to International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde on Sunday that Athens will meet the 450-million-euro debt repayment to the Fund on April 9.

Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, the man who ruined International Monetary Fund (IMF) Chief Christine Lagarde’s Easter, visited the IMF headquarters in Washington for a meeting at 6 p.m. on Sunday (1 a.m.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis departed for Washington D.C. on Sunday morning to meet in the evening with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Chief Christine Lagarde for unofficial talks over the Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) government's reforms plan.

Greece is close to an agreement with its international creditors following the presentation of a new list of reforms by the Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) government and Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis. The new agreement concerns the period until June, however there still needs to be an agreement following this period.

Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said in Parliament on Thursday morning that it is unacceptable that public opinion is being informed by websites on the negotiation with the partners.

New Democracy deputy Yiannis Voutsis had earlier said that deputies are informed on the government's proposals on the Internet.

Yanis Varoufakis on Wednesday issued his own little prank on the occasion of April Fool's Day to his followers on Twitter, with a message that included a link to an article describing the Greek FinMin's new "ambitious plan" for the salvation of Greek economy: That Greece starts running on bitcoin!