French minister hints Greek debt cut target may be relaxed

A deal with private creditors that should be concluded by the end of this week will reduce Greece's debt to 120 or 125 percent of gross domestic product, French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said Tuesday. The European Union and International Monetary Fund have been pushing for
the debt reduction deal with private creditors to reduce Greece's debt to 120 percent of GDP from 160 percent currently and allowing it to come in at 125 percent would represent a relaxation of the terms. "We are close to the goal," Baroin told lawmakers in the lower house of the French parliament. "We believe we can reasonably expect a deal to be agreed by the end of the week." He said the deal would achieve the targets set at the beginning of the talks, namely "voluntary involvement of the private sector, the goal of reducing Greece's debt level compared to gross domestic product to 120 percent or 125 percent."