William Murray

The differences between the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund regarding the easing of the Greek debt have again been exposed in the last few days, while offering an outlook of what the next few months will be like in terms of negotiations.

By Rebecca Christie & Andrew Mayeda

Euro-area officials need to look beyond Greece?s repeat warnings that it may miss a payment and find a long-term solution that shores up the economy to prevent any financial fallout, according to the European commissioner in charge of euro matters.

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde had a 'constructive' conversation with Greece's prime minister on Wednesday, IMF spokesman William Murray said on Thursday.

"They had a constructive conversation that focused on next steps in taking forward the policy discussions related to the IMF's continued support of Greece's reform program," Murray told reporters on Thursday.

 Fund remains against horizontal cuts to salaries and pensions

By Katerina Sokou

The International Monetary Fund insists that Greece’s debt needs to be restructured and is waiting for the issue to be discussed this fall in the context of the Greek economy’s next assessment, a spokesman for the Washington-based Fund confirmed on Thursday.