WASHINGTON, March 28 (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund was grappling on Friday with questions as to precisely what role it will play in a European-led rescue of Greece.

A day after euro zone leaders agreed to provide coordinated loans to Greece with the help of the IMF, officials at the Washington-based lender were unclear over how the fund's resources would be tapped and how it would impose the sort of conditions that normally come attached to its financial aid.

In its first comments since the EU announcement, the IMF said on Friday it was monitoring developments.

''We are following developments closely,'' the fund said in a statement, reiterating that it stood ready to consider any financial assistance if asked.

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a former French economy minister, begins a short visit to Poland and Romania on Monday where he will likely encounter questions on Greece. The  IMF's website said is expected to call for closer cooperation and reforms to Europe's architecture.

An IMF role in a euro zone member country could play well politically for Strauss-Kahn, who said last month he could imagine a scenario where he could run in France's 2012 presidential elections.

That said, there is no guarantee he could win enough backing from Socialist supporters to become their candidate.

Strauss-Kahn used the global financial crisis last year to boost the IMF's relevance by revamping its lending instruments and winning new resources for countries facing crises.

The dilemma for the IMF is that Greece falls under the jurisdiction of European Union rules and is a member of the euro zone where monetary and foreign exchange policies are dictated by the  European Central Bank.

That makes it difficult for the IMF to set policy prescriptions backed by its money.

Under the accord, Athens would receive bilateral loans from other euro zone countries and the IMF if it faces severe difficulties. Tough terms imposed by German Chancellor Angela Merkel mean the mechanism could be activated only under strict conditions.

A senior IMF official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the issue, told Reuters that Greece was not expected to request IMF aid just yet.

The official said it was unclear under what conditions Greece would be allowed to activate the lending mechanism and at what point the Greek authorities could request IMF aid.

Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said on Thursday Greece would prefer to get funding from financial markets although that will depend on interest rates.

The European Union said it would shoulder about two-thirds of the funding to Greece and the IMF about one-third.

Greece's IMF borrowing quota is equivalent to $1.25 billion, although it would be allowed to draw up to 10 or 12 times that which was permitted for other countries needing bailouts during the global financial crisis.

Analysts have said Greece could be allowed to borrow between 20 billion to 22 billion euros from the IMF.

Greece would be the first country in the euro zone to borrow from the IMF, breaking new ground for the world's lender of last restort.