AzerNews: Lifesaver for drowning Greece

Gloomy financial position of Greece made the country to grasp for any chance to stay afloat. In this light, it seems that the country consider natural reserves rich Azerbaijan as a lifering.

The country of Hellenes is balancing on the edge of default now as the International rating agency Fitch lowered Greece's rating by one degree, to CCC level, which means the possibility of default in two steps. The same forecast give other major credit rating agencies Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s.

While the European Central Bank has stopped accepting Greek government bonds as security for new loans, but the country uses the possible bankruptcy to threat to international creditors, such as EU and IMF. The new authorities that came to power this January do not hesitate to demand money from Europe, as the default will obviously lead to panic in the peripheral countries of the European Union and the chain reaction.

The new government said to have money until April end. If default comes, the country will damage the euro area by € 330 billion, which is 3.4 percent of the eurozone’s GDP.

How does Azerbaijan come into the picture? Greece’s gas transmission operator DESFA turned a real problem between the two after resource-rich Azerbaijan acquired the bankrupt company in December 2013. The Azerbaijan State Oil Company won the tender, purchasing a 66 percent stake in DESFA for €400 million, while the Greek state controls the remaining 34 percent stake.

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