FRANKFURT, Dec 16 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank sent a "strong signal" by saying explicitly that it could reinvest proceeds from its PEPP bond-buying scheme in Greek government bonds if the country needs support, ECB President Christine Lagarde said on Thursday. The ECB has bought some 35 billion euros worth of Greek government bonds under its Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme which expires in March. But Greek debt is excluded from the ECB"s older and continuing Asset Purchase Programme due to its low credit rating. "Greece has improved its ratings but does not have the rating that makes it eligible under the APP, and for this reason we have decided to have a specific reference to Greece and the Hellenic Republic," Lagarde told a news conference. "That"s a really strong signal, and it"s rare that we have a country-specific clause ... That particular clause was very strongly supported in the Governing Council." Earlier, the ECB said it could adjust its PEPP reinvestments in the event of renewed market fragmentation related to the COVID-19 pandemic. "This could include purchasing bonds issued by the Hellenic Republic over and above rollovers of redemptions in order to avoid an interruption of purchases in that jurisdiction which could impair the transmission of monetary policy to the Greek economy while it is still recovering from the fallout of the pandemic," it said in a statement. (This story corrects 3rd paragraph to Hellenic Republic from Hellenic Bank after ECB said Lagarde misspoke)