The International Monetary Fund would not take part in a bailout programme for Greece if it deemed the country’s debt unsustainable, the international lender’s chief Christine Lagarde said in an interview published yesterday.

Greece needs to implement reforms agreed by eurozone finance ministers earlier this month to secure a new loan under its €86 billion bailout programme, the third since 2010.

The loan is needed to pay debt due in July, but talks continue and the IMF has not yet decided whether to join the bailout. The fund’s participation is seen as a condition for Germany to unblock new funds to Greece.

“If Greek debts are not sustainable based on IMF rules and reasonable parameters, we will not take part in the programme,” Lagarde told German newspaper Die Welt when asked if the IMF would take part in the plan if Greek debt were not restructured.

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