Greece eyes debt restructure with private lenders by Feb 17

(ATHENS) - Greece needs to restructure its debt through a bond swap with its private creditors by February 17 or face bankruptcy, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said Sunday.

The minister was addressing parliament during a crucial session when lawmakers must decide whether to back a government-approved plan that is needed to unlock a 130 billion euro ($171 billion) rescue fund from the EU and the IMF.

Stressing the importance of Sunday's vote, Venizelos warned parliament that if it failed to approve new austerity measures demanded by the EU and the IMF, the country's plans to restructure its debt with private financiers would also fall apart.

"By Sunday evening, parliament should have adopted" the new austerity programme so that the country "can get the green light from the Eurogroup, probably Wednesday" to unlock the bailout funds, the minister said.

"If Greece does not rise to the occasion, then we will not be able by Friday, February 17, to officially begin the process of bond swapping so that Greece can get rid of the burden of 100 billion (euros) of public debt," he said.

This is because if that timeline is missed, "we will not be able to swap the bonds by March 5 (and) we won't have time to resolve the issue of paying the bonds that mature between March 14 and 20," Venizelos said.

"If that does not happen, the country will be bankrupt," he added.

After long and tortuous negotiations, private creditors finally agreed to wipe out about 100 billion euros of Greece's 350 billion euro debt through the bond swap.

Urging lawmakers to back the plan, Venizelos said: "The situation is very clear. Tonight at midnight before the markets open the Greek parliament must send the message that our nation can and will (support the debt deal).

"Today we must understand, and persuade Greek citizens, that when you have to choose between bad and worse, you will choose the bad to avoid the worst," he added.

Deputies were not expected to vote on the measure before 2200 GMT.