Merkel to make 1st visit to Greece as money runs out
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BERLIN (REUTERS) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel will make her first visit to Greece next week since the euro zone debt crisis erupted, in a show of support for Athens after it said it would run out of money at the end of November without fresh international aid.
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras hailed the trip as a positive development at a time when his country is locked in negotiations with euro zone and International Monetary Fund (IMF) creditors who are holding back some 31.5 billion euros (S$50.2 billion) in urgently needed loans.
"The key is liquidity. That is why the next credit tranche is so important for us," Mr Samaras told the German business daily Handelsblatt.
When asked how long Greece could manage without it, he said: "Until the end of November. Then the coffers are empty."
