(VOVworld) – The IMF will not join a new bailout program for Greece until conditions for debt sustainability, including debt relief and economic reforms, are clearly assured, an IMF official said on Thursday.

A man crosses the road as he pulls a shopping trolley in the center of Athens, July 26, 2015 (Photo: AFP)

Greece’s creditors, including the IMF, the European Council, the European Central Bank, and the European Stability Mechanism began meetings in Athens to prepare the new 86-billion-EUR bailout program. The AFP news agency quoted the IMF official as saying that to achieve consensus on the new bailout program, both Greece and its creditors need to take hard decisions: Greece needs to reform and the EU needs to forgive some of Greece’s debts.