The Greek Prime Minister started a diplomatic tour to get international support for his government’s response to the crisis in Luxembourg.

There George Papandreou was told that the group of countries using the euro has ruled out any immediate financial aid for his debt-ridden country.

Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who is also chairman of the 16-country Eurogroup, said the tough measures taken by the Athens government pave the way for Greece to exit the situation it is in.

And he dismissed the idea of an International Monetary Fund bailout: “As I said publicly as the chairman of the Eurogroup I’d like to exclude any further involvement of the IMF. What we need is technical assistance from the IMF, but I don’t think that the IMF should take a lead, this is a problem of the euro area.”

After Luxembourg, Papandreou’s next stop was Berlin to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel. She’s offering political, not financial, support. Her economy minister said: “The German government does not intend to give a single cent.”

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