Greece's Samaras Sees Recession Ending In 2014

(RTTNews) - Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said Saturday that the country's six-year long recession will end in 2014.

Next year "will be a year of recovery for the Greek economy", Samaras said in a speech at Thessaloníki trade fair. The recession this year will be smaller than widely forecast, he said.

Greece is now "an island of stability in an increasingly unstable region", he said as people gathered near the venue to protest against the government's austerity measures.

Samaras' speech comes at a time when many European leaders admitted that the country may need another bailout by the end of 2014, when the current program expires.

The Prime Minister's speech was filled with greater optimism than most of his earlier remarks. He said the word "Grexit", which has been used to denote Greece's possible exit from Eurozone, has now been replaced by "Grecovery".

Samaras said the economy is expected to post a budget surplus this year. He also pointed out that many international companies have expressed interest in investing in Greece while some of the Greek companies have already started their investment projects.