A soft restructuring of Greece's sovereign debt is not on the cards, European Central Bank Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny told Austrian radio, insisting Greece take the lead on shoring up its finances.

Asked in an interview on Thursday whether a reprofiling of Greek debt could entail a soft restructuring, Nowotny said: I don't believe so. This means for now Greece has to follow through in a massive and consistent way on things that still need to be done. This concerns above all a comprehensive privatization program.

What is also certainly under discussion is the issue of how long this (Greek rescue) program should last and, under some circumstances, the interest burden.

The chairman of euro zone finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, said earlier on Tuesday Greek debt could undergo a soft restructuring if Athens embarked on major reforms and accelerated privatizations to raise funds.

(Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by John Stonestreet)

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