IMF is participating fully in Athens debt talks: European Commission

Reuters
Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde (back C) attend an euro zone finance ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium, July 12, 2015. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund is participating fully in the ongoing talks for a new bailout program for Greece, a spokeswoman for the European Commission said on Friday, dismissing reports the IMF could be abandoning the rescue plan.

The talks on a new bailout program are ongoing "with the IMF present and fully participating in the talks in Athens," Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva told journalists in Brussels.

She said the IMF position was unchanged and added that its approach and timetable were "fully compatible with the European agenda," which implies a deal on a new bailout program and then talks on debt relief for Greece.

(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; editing by Barbara Lewis)