IMF: Greece needs debt relief as further bailout agreed

International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde released a statement calling for some form of debt relief for Greece, following the eurozone announcement, Deutsche Welle reported Saturday.

Several of Greece's creditors oppose such a move, yet see the Washington-based IMF as having a key role in providing further support for Greece.

"I remain firmly of the view that Greece's debt has become unsustainable and that Greece cannot restore debt sustainability solely through actions on its own," Lagarde said.

"It is equally critical for medium and long-term debt sustainability that Greece's European partners make concrete commitments… to provide significant debt relief, well beyond what has been considered so far," Lagarde added.

The eurogroup had opposed any "haircut" or trimming of the debt but was open to other options including extending the repayment timeline, which would have a similar effect, if Greece was found to have met its loan conditions in a review scheduled for October.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, who has become the face of austerity demands by Greece's creditors, took a "wait and see" approach with regards to the agreement reached following months of fraught negotiations.

"This is an opportunity. But what is decisive is that Greece does what it says it will do," Schäuble said.