国际英语新闻:Eurozone, IMF reach new deal on Greek debt

BRUSSELS, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Eurozone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) struck a deal on Tuesday to cut Greek debt in the long term, which finally gave green light to the release of the next tranche of bailout money for the debt-laden country.

After nearly 10 hours of contentious talks, Greece's international creditors agreed to cut the country's debt to a level of 124 percent of its gross domestic product by 2020, and below 110 percent by 2022, through a package of measures, including lowering interest rates and extending maturities on loans to Greece.

The finance ministers and IMF also decided to disburse the next instalment of bailout money for Greece, which amounts to 43.7 billion euros (some 56 billion US dollars).

"I'm pleased to announce that today we reached a political agreement on the next disbursement to Greece. I admit, however, that this has been a very difficult deal," Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker said at a press conference.

"Let me first say that this is not just about money, this is the promise of a better future for the Greek people and for the euro area as a whole, a break from the era of missed targets and loose implementation towards a new paradigm of steadfast reform momentum, declining debt ratios and a return to growth," he said.