Greek Finance Minister rules out debt restructuring

CERNOBBIO: Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou ruled out on Saturday a restructuring of Greece's massive public debt.

"There is absolutely no chance of a restructuring of Greek debt," the minister told Reuters on Saturday when asked about a press report that the International Monetary Fund is privately pushing for Athens to restructure its debt soon.

In a report, German magazine Der Spiegel wrote that high ranking International Monetary Fund officials were recommending to European governments a restructuring of Greece's debt pile.

"People (who talk about a restructuring) fail to understand that the costs would much outweigh the benefits," the minister added on the sidelines of a business conference in Italy.