ATHENS—Greece aims to have an agreement with its
international creditors by Sunday, a government spokesman said
Thursday, despite warnings from Germany and other creditors that
Greece is still far from offering sufficient economic overhauls to
unlock bailout cash.
"The optimism expressed by the Greek government is based on
actual facts," government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis told
reporters. "The conditions are ripe to have a deal."
But a European official said Thursday that further progress is
needed in the technical talks, reining in expectations from Athens
for an imminent deal.
"Open issues need to be resolved," said Annika Breidthardt, a
spokeswoman for the European Commission, the EU's executive
arm.
Officials in Athens suggested Wednesday that talks with Greece's
creditors over fresh bailout funds had reached a final stage,
though European Union officials said negotiators still had much
work to do before sealing a deal.
Teams from Greece and its international creditors resumed talks
in Brussels on Wednesday in a bid to overcome an impasse in their
negotiations as Athens runs dangerously low on cash.
"There are no concerns about Greece's banking system," Mr.
Sakellaridis said Thursday.
Mr. Tsipras told reporters after a meeting at the Finance
Ministry on Wednesday that the two sides were close to an
agreement. A senior Greek government official, meanwhile, said
Greece and its creditors would start drafting a final list of
overhauls and budget cuts that Athens needs to implement to secure
fresh bailout funds.
But Valdis Dombrovskis, vice president of the European
Commission, played down hopes of a resolution soon, saying Greece
and its creditors were still some way from a deal.
"There needs to be a comprehensive reform package presented by
the Greek government in order to successfully complete the review,"
Mr. Dombrovskis told reporters Wednesday.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble also said
late Wednesday that no progress in substance has been made.
"We always hear positive news coming out of Greece, which is
good. However, we haven't gotten much further in substance in the
negotiations between the three institutions and the Greek
government," he said on German television.
The Greek government hopes that the pessimistic assumptions "do
not conceal intentions, apart from estimates," Mr. Sakellaridis
said.
Asked whether the Greek government is being blackmailed, Mr.
Sakellaridis said, "The government neither receives nor delivers
blackmails."
The negotiations between the negotiating teams in Brussels are
expected to continue to the end of the week and talks between
eurozone finance ministry officials are scheduled for Thursday.
Greece is under pressure to agree to economic overhauls with its
creditors to unlock new financing. Athens is believed to have
enough cash left to repay a loan of €300 million ($330
million) to the International Monetary Fund on June 5, but probably
won't have enough to cover three further repayments due
mid-June.
The government has been holding stop-start negotiations with its
creditors for weeks, but there is still dissatisfaction with
Greece's promises on economic reforms. Significant differences
remain on pensions, privatization, labor law and fiscal
austerity.
Write to Nektaria Stamouli at nektaria.stamouli@wsj.com
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