WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Greece's finance minister said yesterday aid would arrive fast enough to avert a debt default as signs grew that a 45 billion euro ($60.49 billion) rescue package would have to be increased. Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said bailout talks with the International Monetary Fund and European partners had gone well, and he was confident Greece would secure help in May to finance its crippling public debt without any problem. At a press briefing at the IMF in Washington, he downplayed concerns that Germany might stand in the way of a rescue deal that is hugely unpopular in Europe's biggest economy.

Even if there were delays in getting parliamentary approval in some European countries, IMF support could be matched with bridge loans from other European countries that had already cleared the deal, he said.