ECB and Germany play down talk of third Greek bailout

The European Central Bank joined Germany yesterday in playing down talk of a third bailout package for Greece, but reaffirmed the eurozone would help the country trim debt as long as it stuck to its latest aid programme.

Speaking in Athens a day after German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble bluntly predicted Greece would need a new bailout, ECB executive board member Joerg Asmussen said he had not discussed the issue at talks with senior Greek officials.

He referred instead to the eurozone’s pledge last year to support Greece until it can tap markets again, provided it sticks to its bailout obligations and posts a budget surplus before interest payments.