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BBC 6 hours ago

Greece would struggle to find creditors outside the EU and IMF, German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has said.

He said it would be welcome to try to find investment from Beijing or Moscow, but may have difficulties, he said.

His warning came after fears of a Greek debt default saw its borrowing costs jump 3.5 percentage points to 27%.*

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said his government refuses to consider leaving the EU: "Toying with Grexit... is profoundly anti-European."

He also promised to "compromise, compromise, compromise without being compromised" to satisfy current creditors.

Both men were speaking at talks in Washington.

On Wednesday, ratings agency S&P downgraded Greece's credit rating.

Yields also rose on longer-term Greek borrowing, with the 10-year bond yield - the amount investors demand for lending - rising one percentage point to 13%.

Mr Schaeuble said that the Greek government needs to find creditors.

"The Europeans have said, OK, we are ready to do it [lend money] until 2020... If you find someone else, whether it's in Beijing, in Moscow, in Washington DC, or in New York who will lend you money, ok, fine, we would be happy. But it's difficult to find someone who is lending you in this situation amounts [of] €200bn."

He added that Greece must focus on increasing its competitiveness and primary surplus.

Mr Schaeuble was speaking at an event in Washington after Greek government's borrowing costs surged on Thursday.

The Financial Times had earlier reported that Greece had made an "informal approach" to the International Monetary Fund to have its bailout repayments delayed, but had been rebuffed.

But the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, said at the World Bank spring meeting in Washington: "We have never had an advanced economy asking for payment delays.

"Payment delays are analysed as additional financing granted to that country. Additional financing means additional contribution by the international community - some of which are in much direr situations than the country eventually seeking those delays.

"Payment delays had not been granted by the board of the IMF in the last 30 years and it was eventually granted to a couple of developing countries and that delay was not followed by very productive results.

"It's clearly not a course of action that would actually fit or be recommendable in the current situation."

Greece owes the IMF some €1bn (£720m, $1.06bn) in repayments next month.

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