Greece: Debt Deal Needs 'Maximum Possible Speed'

ATHENS, Greece - Greece's finance minister says the country's new debt deal agreed on by European leaders last month must be ratified quickly if Greece is to avoid a catastrophic default, and that sensitive talks are under way to give it political backing.

Evangelos Venizeloss said Tuesday that the ratification requires "maximum possible speed." He was speaking during a parliamentary debate ahead of a vote of confidence in the country's new coalition government, which was sworn in last week after days of a severe political crisis that brought the country's continued participation in the European joint currency into question.

The new government is led by technocrat Lucas Papademos, a former vice president of the European Central Bank, and includes ministers from the conservatives, socialists, and a small right-wing party.