OECD head: rescheduling Greek debt lesser of two evils

PARIS (Reuters) - OECD head Angel Gurria said in an interview published on Tuesday that rescheduling Greece's debt would not be a bad idea as it would be the lesser of two evils, with many fearing the country could default.

"The decision to move toward a rescheduling of Greek debt doesn't seem like a bad one to me," Gurria was quoted as saying in daily Le Figaro when asked whether Greece should restructure its huge debt.

"It gives Greece time to digest its adjustment measures. For markets, allowing a delay in repayment is a lesser evil which does not imply a reduction in the principal," said Gurria, secretary general of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Greece announced on Monday 6 billion euros of new fiscal measures to shrink its budget hole and jump-start privatizations to try to persuade increasingly skeptical lenders and markets it can pay down its debt without a restructuring.

(Reporting by Catherine Bremer; Editing by John Stonestreet)