Greece hires Lazard to advise on debt ahead of talks

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's Finance Ministry said on Saturday that it had hired financial advisors Lazard to consult on issues of public debt and fiscal management, as the new leftist government enters talks to renegotiate a bailout accord with creditors.

Greece used Lazard during talks in 2012 over private sector involvement (PSI) as it sought to write down billions of euros of debt in a major sovereign restructuring.

Europe's bailout program for Greece, part of a 240-billion-euro ($270 billion) rescue package along with the International Monetary Fund, expires on Feb. 28 and a failure to renew it could leave Athens unable to meet its financing needs and cut its banks off from ECB liquidity support.

(Reporting By Costas Pitas; editing by James MacKenzie)