Germany rejects debt relief for Greece

"Whoever says ΄we will relieve your debts΄ is doing Greece a disservice," the finance ministry confirmed Schaeuble as saying after the Passauer Neue Presse daily reported it.

"We have noted that President Obama has pointed to the importance of debt relief. The euro group agreed in May on a timetable on exactly that subject .. regarding measures for the short term, and later in 2018 for mid-term measures," said government spokesman Steffen Seibert at a news conference.

"It has always been our view that for long-term growth, two things are needed - a sustainable budget and on the other hand, the need for structural reforms. That was always our view and that has been the basis of our policies towards Greece," he said.