Euro fund talk a 'distraction' from Greece: IMF chief

(BRUSSELS) - The head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, said Wednesday that talk of a European equivalent for future crisis prevention was a "distraction" from urgent problems in Greece.

"It's kind of a distraction from the real problems the eurozone is facing now with Greece," he told European parliament lawmakers.

"The problem for Grece is an immediate problem," he said.

Athens renewed a warning on Wednesday that it might have to seek help from the IMF if the European Union does not do more than define vague parameters for high-interest loans in the event of imminent default.

He said that "imagination" being let loose was a distraction from what has to be done on the fiscal side, especially as problems with European Union treaties mean that it "won't be done overnight."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel herself warned on Wednesday that Europe needed "a treaty framework in which it would even be possible as a last resort to exclude a country from the euro if it again and again breaks the conditions over the long-term."

Strauss-Kahn nevertheless said the IMF was happy to work with regional funds under its umbrella.

"I believe very strongly there is a need of a multilateral institution overarching the whole system, but it's very possible to work with regional monetary funds," he added.