ECB wants Greece to remain in euro

The European Central Bank wants Greece to remain in the euro, a top ECB official told an Austrian newspaper, as Greek officials prepare to resume talks with the country's creditors on averting a debt default.

Asked about Greece's membership of the currency bloc, the ECB's chief economist Peter Praet told Saturday's edition of der Standard: "The Governing Council of the ECB wants Greece to remain a member of the euro."

The Governing Council sets policy at the bank.

Praet also stressed the need for trust between countries that embark on reforms and those which give them financial backing.

"When a country agrees to do something, it has to implement the agreement. The more credible a country is, the more patient creditors can be and the more trust they can show," he said.

"If a government is trusted, it doesn't mean so much if an agreed figure is not reached exactly in a year. The problem is that if you lose this confidence, the situation becomes messy and creditors then immediately press for results."

Greek officials and the country's creditors were due to resume talks in Brussels on Saturday on a cash-for-reforms deal Athens needs to clinch by an end-June deadline to avoid a default and possible exit from the euro zone.