Greek gov't sees no foreign saviors for its economy

ATHENS, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The Greek government sees no foreign saviors nor hidden enemies, but chronic problems that need brave solutions, its spokesman George Petalotis said on Wednesday, following the start of a new round of talks in Athens between Greek officials and EU-IMF experts on the safety net for the Greek economy.

Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou received a new mixed team of experts of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund on Wednesday for consultations on the details of the newly created mechanism for financial support of European economies that face severe economic issues.

The meeting lasted for almost four hours and no statements were made by both sides. The Greek Finance Ministry noted though that the team will stay in Athens for at least two weeks, will hold a string of meetings with various Greek officials and at the end a common text on the outcome of these discussions will be released.

As the Greek government still does not reveal if will choose a turn to the safety net eventually in the following weeks, Papaconstantinou said that Athens could request the activation of the EU-IMF support mechanism even before the end of the latest round of consultations.

The current talks focus on the conditions of a possible financial aid package to Greece and the additional measures the country will need to take in the future.

"The reforms the Greek government promotes are not dictated by European partners nor the IMF, but are necessary for the fiscal and social survival of Greece. We see no foreign saviors nor hidden enemies," Petalotis stressed during a press briefing on Wednesday.

Greek citizens though already react strongly to the idea of a new package of austerity measures that will be implemented by IMF, as they fear, and a new nationwide general strike of public servants is due on Thursday.

Petalotis noted that the safety net Greece discusses has nothing to do with previous interventions of the IMF in Europe, since it is mainly a European mechanism with IMF in a supporting role.