THE GUARDIAN: Dominique Strauss-Kahn remains confident that Europe's leaders can resolve the Greek crisis
The head of the International Monetary Fund believes Greece will resolve its debt crisis without an IMF bailout, and today dismissed fears that other European nations will be engulfed by the crisis.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn insisted this morning that other eurozone countries with large public deficits would not be forced into the same predicament as Greece. Speaking to Reuters in Nairobi, Strauss-Kahn said the wider European economy was still strong - despite fears that Greece might default on its debts. While the IMF is poised to assist Greece if needed, Strauss-Kahn remains confident that Europe's leaders could resolve the issue.
"The eurozone wants to deal with the problem itself, and I can understand that," he said. "I think they can do it … and we're just here to help."
Strauss-Kahn also argued that those who claim that Spain or Ireland could suffer a debt default are simply trying to "scare" the financial markets.
"We have a problem with Greece. We don't have a problem with Spain to date. The eurozone has to deal with the Greek problem. They are doing this," said Strauss-Kahn.
"No one knows what's going to happen tomorrow morning but there's no reason why the spillover to Portugal or to Spain will take place," he added. >>> Graeme Wearden | Monday, March 08, 2010
