Greek minister says Athens cannot make IMF debt repayments

Interior minister Nikos Voutsis makes most explicit remarks yet that if talks with creditors fail, Greece will default next month

Greece cannot make debt repayments to the International Monetary Fund next month unless it achieves a deal with creditors, its interior minister said on Sunday, the most explicit remarks yet from Athens about the likelihood of default if talks fail.

Shut out of the bond markets and with bailout aid locked, cash-strapped Athens has been scraping state coffers to meet debt obligations and to pay wages and pensions.