IMF says Greece may need debt relief

The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday that Greece may need debt relief but rejected news reports that it had pushed for it at a eurozone meeting last month.

"During the Eurogroup meeting in Riga last month, the IMF did not push for large-scale debt relief, as some press reports have stated," the IMF said in a brief emailed statement.

"In the meeting, IMF European Department Director Poul Thomsen pointed to the tradeoff that needs to be made in reaching agreement in the current discussions, namely that the more distant the measures agreed and targets are from the original commitment in 2012, the higher would be the need for additional financing and debt relief to make the country's debt sustainable."