Greece Fails To Meet IMF Deadline For €1.6 Billion Bailout Payment

Greece might have to step out from the eurozone after failing to settle its €1.6 billion bailout credit from the International Monetary Fund, missing its final deadline on Tuesday.

The Greek nation is the first developed country to miss a payment to the IMF, Huffington Post reports.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras proposed a last-minute settlement for additional two years of restruction of debt and financial support. However, after a number of times Tsipras requested for payment extensions with a series of settlements, IMF immediately refused.

The newly-appointed Greek Prime Minister, who is trying to save the country from its on-going global economic crisis since 2009, has planned to settle agreements with creditors to extend its payment deadline.

After assuming position in January, Tsipras asked IMF for a four-month extension, promising to make payment when the 7.2 billion euro tranche is released.

Earlier in May, the country was not able to meet this particular deadline, due to its failure to make a €750 million payment. Greece negotiated to make a one-time full payment on June 30, which then the country failed to meet.

"This evening at exactly midnight Central European Time the program expires. And I am not aware of any real indications of anything else," IMF German Chancellor Angela Merkel announced on Tuesday.

"It is a dark hour for Europe....nevertheless from where we're sitting we have a clear conscience," Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis sain in his interview with BBC News.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told reporters he advised the Greeks to continue the negotiations. "I cannot resign myself to Greece leaving the euro zone ... We must find a solution."

According to Huffington Post, "Greece should stay in euro," said EU Economics Commissioner Pierre Moscovici. "The door is still open for negotiations on latest EU Commission proposals." 

Ecomonists have predicted the Greece's exit from the eurozone since fellow European countries were alarmed and started taking necessary economic measures in preparation for the Greeks' economic depression since 2012.

Real Time Analytics