IMF chief: I've little sympathy for Greece

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde says she has more sympathy for poor African children than Greeks suffering under the country's economic problems and austerity measures.

Making clear that the IMF has no plans to relent on its austerity requirements for the country, Lagarde said she was aware that many Greeks were struggling to access services like health care because of the country's economic crisis, but believed people in other countries deserved more sympathy.

"I think more of the little kids from a school in a little village in Niger who get teaching two hours a day, sharing one chair for three of them, and who are very keen to get an education," she said in an interview with the U.K.'s Guardian newspaper published Saturday. "I have them in my mind all the time. Because I think they need even more help than the people in Athens."

Lagarde pointed to Greece's culture of tax evasion as a major factor behind the country's financial difficulties, saying: "So, you know what? As far as Athens is concerned, I also think about all those people who are trying to escape tax all the time."

Greeks "should also help themselves collectively" by paying their taxes, she said.

Greece's economy is being kept afloat on international loans provided by the European Union and the IMF.-- AP