Finland opposes Greece debt relief but open to 'discussing' terms

(HELSINKI) - Finland's Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said Monday he opposed debt relief for Greece but said Helsinki was prepared to discuss terms and a possible extension of the loan period.

Stubb was speaking a day after Greek voters handed a decisive victory to radical left party Syriza in elections, putting the country on a collision course with the EU and international creditors.

"We're not prepared to write off Greek loans... but obviously we're prepared to discuss different programmes," Stubb told reporters, adding that he expected Greece to honour earlier agreements on its bailout.

"We're sticking to what we've agreed on... but we can extend the loan period."

Finland took a tougher stance than other eurozone states in 2011 when the second Greek bailout package was agreed, demanding collateral for its portion of a total programme worth 159 billion euros.

Syriza has pledged to renegotiate the terms of Greece's 240 billion euro ($269 billion) bailout with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

Stubb said there was no room for "radical" changes to the Greek bailout terms given that they had already been renegotiated twice.

"The truth is that the Greek loan conditions are already now very flexible," Stubb said.

"We need to stick to the rules, because the rules being broken was the main reason for the crisis to begin with."