WIKILEAKS REVEAL THE IMF "SUGGESTING" A CREDIT EVENT TO FORCE GREECE INTO SUBMISSION

The discussion centred around the imposition of drastic reforms in Greece, including overhauling the country's pension scheme. The discussion was held at the Athens Hilton between the top two officials in charge of the Greek debt crisis- Poul Thomsen, the head of the IMF's European Department, and Delia Velkouleskou, the IMF Mission Chief for Greece.

Below is the transcript:

THOMSEN: Well, I don't know. But this is... I think about it differently. What is going to bring it all to a decision point? In the past there has been only one time when the decision has been made and then that was when they were about to run out of money seriously and to default. Right?

VELKOULESKOU: Right!

THOMSEN: And possibly this is what is going to happen again. In that case, it drags on until July, and clearly the Europeans are not going to have any discussions for a month before the Brexits and so, at some stage they will want to take a break and then they want to  start again after the European referendum.

VELKOULESKOU: That's right.

THOMSEN: That is one possibility. Another possibility is one that I thought would have happened already and I am surprised that it has not happened, is that, because of the refugee situation, they take a decision... that they want to come to a conclusion. Ok? And the Germans raise the issue of the management... and basically we at that time say "Look, you Mrs. Merkel you face a question, you have to think about what is more costly: to go ahead without the IMF, would the Bundestag say 'The IMF is not on board'? or to pick the debt relief that we think that Greece needs in order to keep us on board?" Right? That is really the issue.

VELKOULESKOU:  I agree that we need an event, but I don't know what that will be. But I think Dijsselbloem is trying not to generate an event, but to jump start this discussion somehow on debt, that essentially is about us being on board or not at the end of the day.

THOMSEN: Yeah, but you know, that discussion of the measures and the discussion of the debt can go on forever, until some high up.. until they hit the July payment or until the leaders decide that we need to come to an agreement. But there is nothing in there that otherwise is going to force a compromise. Right? It is going to go on forever

And here's how the various parties interpreted it:

Bloomberg: "the leak shows officials linking Greek issue with U.K. referendum risking general political destabilization in Europe."

Zero Hedge: "The leaked transcript reveals how the IMF plans to use Greece as a pawn in its ongoing negotiation with Germany's chancelleor in order to achieve the desired Greek debt reduction which Germany has been pointedly against: in the leak we learn about the intention of IMF to threaten German Chancellor Angela Merkel to force her to accept the IMF's demands at a critical point."

Paul Mason form the Guardian puts it most eloquently: 

The International Monetary Fundhas been caught red handed, plotting to stage a "credit event" that forces Greece to the edge of bankruptcy using the pretext of the Brexit referrendum.