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Greek woes unlikely to spread, says IMF head

By Jana Weigand

Date: Monday 08 Mar 2010

Greek woes unlikely to spread, says IMF head

Greece's financial woes are unlikely to spread to other eurozone countries with high debt levels, the head of the International Monetary Fund said on Monday.

Dominic Strauss-Kahn said “there's no reason” to expect that Spain and Portugal would need external support.

He also remains confident that European leaders can resolve the crisis without a bailout by the IMF.

Strauss-Kahn told Reuters: “We have a problem with Greece. We don't have a problem with Spain to date. The eurozone has to deal with the Greek problem. They are doing this.”

“No one knows what's going to happen tomorrow morning but there's no reason why the spillover to Portugal or to Spain will take place.”

Strauss-Kahn added that while the IMF would be prepared to help Greece, “so far I think that the Europeans will be able to deal with the problem.”

His comments came just after French president Nicolas Sarkozy said the eurozone will stand by Greece should it need financial help.

The eurozone stands side by side with Greece because "that's what partners are for," Sarkozy said.

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