Greece will pare deficit whatever it takes: finance chief

WASHINGTON: Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos on Sunday pledged in Washington that Athens will continue to make budget cuts "at any political cost."

With recession dragging on in his Mediterranean nation, "we'll respond by introducing additional measures," he stressed.

"We are ready to take the necessary initiatives at any political cost," Venizelos said in an address to the Institute of International Finance, an association of 450 banks from around the world.

Venizelos stressed that Athens already has made considerable efforts. He said "Greece is not the scapegoat of the euro area or of the international economy. Greece in an historical and proud country with citizens who are doing many sacrifices to save it and see it recover."

"I don't think that you can find many examples at the international level of such rapid fiscal adjustment efforts," the finance minister said. "But as you know, this comes with a political and social price, very expensive social and political price.

"What's important for us is to break the vicious circle," he stressed.

Greece and the euro are facing a tough week of trials from Monday as European and IMF experts resume a fiscal audit that will decide if debt-hit Athens can escape default while Germany tackles a key EU rescue vote.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011