ATHENS: Greece wants to begin debt relief talks next month with its EU-IMF creditors after it achieved a primary surplus, Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said on Monday.
"The road for a discussion on debt relief is open," said the minister. "At the next Eurogroup on May 5, the Greek government will raise the issue," he added.
EU data agency Eurostat last week confirmed that Athens had achieved a 2013 primary budget surplus -- the balance before interest and stripping out bank support and other payments -- equal to 0.8 percent of GDP.
Greece is returning to growth after six years in a recession which has shrank the economy by a quarter.
But it is still saddled with a debt mountain equal to 175 percent of GDP, according to Eurostat.
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