German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told German TV station ZDF that what he is interested in is the commitments of the Greek side. “If they do not keep them, they will have to face the consequences,” he said referring to public statements made by Greek government officials. “If the Greek government asked for my advice, I would say: you need to behave in such a way so as to gain the best possible trust, because you need the trust of the investors and of the banks. The way they behave or as perceived by the international media, I do not feel that it strengthens the trust and it leaves me speechless, because in my opinion, this is not in the interest of Greece,” Schaeuble noted. In another interview with German TV station ARD, he said he understands the lack of trust that the German public opinion shows towards Greece’s reform plans. He also expressed the wish that the Greek government would make use of the four-month extension that was given so as to complete the reforms. “It is in Greece’s interests and also of Europe’s; but mainly of Greece. If they want aid, they need to do what has been agreed. Greece has lately made its position rather difficult, with a rhetoric which is difficult to be understood outside Greece,” he said. Asked whether a statement by his Greek counterpart Yanis Varoufakis on Greece’s payments to the ECB constitutes a threat or even blackmail, Schaeuble said: “It is none of the two, because Greece has signed to keep all its commitments in full and on time. He knows – and he should know, since he is Greece ’s Finance minister and an Economics professor, therefore he knows all that – that at the moment if he does not make the first payment in time, this would mean a credit event. I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes and be responsible for what would then happen to Greece.” (source: ana-mpa)
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