Brussels--Greece won limited support from the eurozone Monday for the progress it has made in difficult bailout talks, but warned that Athens faced a cash crunch within two weeks without a deal.
Athens's radical new government scraped together enough cash to order the repayment to the IMF of 750 million euros ($840 million) and avoid a default which could send it crashing out of the euro.
But eurozone finance ministers meeting in Brussels kept their tough line, saying Greece could not hope for any of the final 7.2-billion-euro tranche of its 240-billion-euro EU-IMF bailout until they make key reforms.
"We welcomed the progress that has been achieved so far... At the same time, we acknowledged that more time and effort are needed to bridge the gaps on the remaining open issues," the Eurogroup statement said after talks in Brussels.
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis -- leading the charge for the anti-austerity government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras -- admitted Athens faced an imminent crisis.
"The liquidity issue is a terribly urgent issue. It's common knowledge, let's not beat around the bush," said the shaven-headed former economics professor, who has been at loggerheads with his international counterparts.
"From the perspective (of timing), we are talking about the next couple of weeks."
AFP
