Greeks making 'great sacrifices', PM tells Merkel

Page last updated at 04:58 GMT, Tuesday, January 8, 2013 - 09:58 EST

AFP:

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras (L) and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, in Berlin, January 8, 2013

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BERLIN — Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras assured German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday that his people were making "great sacrifices" to beat the country's debt crisis and restore confidence.

Samaras, who was in Berlin to attend a business conference, told reporters ahead of "informal" talks at Merkel's chancellery that his country was rolling out crucial reforms, even as average Greeks bear the brunt of the transition.

"I would like to make clear from the start that our country is making an enormous effort, which goes hand-in-hand with great sacrifices, to get things on the right track," he said, flanked by the German leader.

"We are trying to win back credibility -- credibility on the part of the peoples of Europe and on the part of the markets."

Samaras trumpeted a "series of systematic measures" to "guarantee that we do the best possible to put things right, above all to ensure liquidity, which is the life's blood of a healthy economy".

Read the whole story: AFP