Greece has said it could call for help from the EU and the IMF next month after once again paying a steep price to borrow money on international markets.
'There is no chance that Greece will be left hanging in May,' Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou told a news conference.
He said a solution would be found either by borrowing on the market, or from fellow EU members.
Mr Papaconstantinou was referring to a debt deal agreed by Greece's 15 euro zone partners earlier this month with IMF involvement. The EU-IMF rescue deal is worth up to €45 billion at an interest rate of around 5% in the first year.
He said the loans could be approved quickly, should Greece decide to activate the mechanism, and that short-term funds would also be available in case of a delay in negotiations.
But Mr Papaconstantinou repeated that Greece would request activation of the deal only 'when we deem it necessary'. He added that that would depend on loan conditions and the progress of talks with officials from the EU and IMF which start on Wednesday in Athens.
Today, Greece sold €1.95 billion worth of three-month treasury bills but at more than double the cost of its last comparable issue as buyers exacted a high price for their money.
The T-bill auction - the third in a week - comes after the rate of return on Greek 10-year government bonds rose to a record 7.807%. The yield was already at 7.618% late on Monday - way beyond the level that Greece can afford to pay if it is to get through its debt crisis.
The European Commission meanwhile pressed Greece to provide more details of its plans to reduce its massive debt and public deficit in coming years. The joint mission of EU, ECB and IMF staff numbers 20 people and will remain in Greece for around 10 days.
The Greek government needs to raise around €10 billion in May to keep up its debt and budget payments. On top of its urgent borrowing needs, the government faces new strikes this week over its budget austerity measures.
