Berlin: Chancellor Angela Merkel has again ruled out forgiving Greek debt, but is signaling that Germany would show flexibility in how the money is paid back.
Speaking Sunday on ARD television's Bericht aus Berlin program, Merkel said that "a classic haircut of 30, 40 percent of debt cannot happen in a currency union."
Greece previously has been given more favorable interest rates, time extensions and other relief, she said, and "we can talk about such things again."
However, she said that can be discussed only after details of Greece's bailout program are successfully concluded.
Earlier, Germany's vice chancellor criticized Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble for suggesting that Greece could take a five-year "timeout" from the shared euro currency to address its financial problems.
Sigmar Gabriel, who is also Germany's economy minister, said on ZDF television Sunday "it wasn't prudent to make this suggestion as a German suggestion," the dpa news agency reported.
UNB/RI