NOVO-OGAREVO, July 15. /TASS/. The ongoing crisis in Greece shows that economic reforms should be well-timed, Russia’s Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Wednesday.
He was speaking at a meeting of President Vladimir Putin with the members of the cabinet.
"Obviously, structural reforms should be timely implemented to make their implementation painless, which is not the case with Greece now. It is necessary to be responsible when dealing with the budget, finances and when making policies. That is why this [Greece’s case — TASS] is also a lesson for other countries," Siluanov said.
Since 2010, when Greece’s sovereign debt crisis broke out, Athens has received 240 billion euros in two tranches of bailout loans from the EU and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Despite a partial debt write-off in 2012, Greece’s sovereign debt currently exceeds €315 billion or 175% of its GDP.
On Monday, the summit of the eurozone reached agreement on the third aid program for Greece.
The third international package of macro-financial aid to Greece will be up to €90 billion for three years. In its turn, Greece promised to carry out reforms, which actually imply austerity measures.
Greece also committed to transfer its state assets for the sum of €50 billion to a special fund managed by the creditors. This fund may be directly used to finance the aid program or to guarantee loans.