Greek Finance Minister: 'Restructuring is Not an Issue We're Discussing'

Greek officials confirmed that there were no plans to restructure its debt on Saturday, despite open concerns by European Union member Germany.

“Restructuring is not an issue we're discussing,” Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said in an April 16 interview in Washington.

“The pain and the cost” of restructuring be greater than repaying lenders, he continued.

Eurozone members and the IMF agreed to a 110 billion Euro ($146.2 billion) bailout package to rescue Greece in May, 2010.

Recently, the country has come under pressure from markets to restructure its debt and increase austerity measures, especially from Germany.

Separately, Greece has asked euro-area partners to consider rescheduling all of its debt, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter who weren't identified.

According to a Bloomberg report, "Greece found support from International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn and French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde after German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble was quoted as saying “further measures may have to be taken” if Greece fails a June audit. German Deputy Foreign Minister Werner Hoyer told Bloomberg News last week that restructuring “would not be a disaster.”

Perma-bull Nouriel Roubini has said that “The issue of Greece is not whether there will be debt restructuring, but when it will be done, and whether it will be an orderly market-oriented debt exchange or disorderly like in Argentina.”