US Treasury Secretary heads to Greece

ATHENS, Greece (AP) - US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew is to visit Greece to discuss the country's progress in meeting reforms required under its third international bailout.

Lew, scheduled to arrive Wednesday, was to meet on Thursday with Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to discuss the reforms package, which includes labor, pension and social security reforms, tax hikes and privatizations.

Greece has been dependent on bailouts since 2010, after massive debt and loss of confidence in the country's ability to repay it left it locked out of bond markets.

The US Treasury Department said in a statement that Lew would "encourage the government to continue making strong progress on reforms" so European leaders could begin discussions with the International Monetary Fund on details of debt relief in the fall.