Washington---US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew told Greece's prime minister in a phone call Tuesday that Athens should make "a serious move to reach a pragmatic compromise with its creditors."
According to the Treasury, Lew warned Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras that failing to agree new financing "would create immediate hardship for Greece and broad uncertainties for Europe and the global economy."
The call came as relations between Greece and its official creditors -- the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank, and the European Commission -- sank to a new low Tuesday, raising fears that the country would default on its debt and exit the euro area.
While the US is not a direct party in negotiations between the two sides, Lew told Tsipras that the Treasury "remains engaged with all sides."
Talks between Greece and the creditors over the release of 7.2 billion euros ($8.1 billion) of bailout funds to Athens have ground to a halt this week over the conditions for the funding.
Greece needs the money to make a looming 1.6-billion-euro debt payment to the IMF at the end of the month, as well as paying salaries and pensions to Greek state workers and retirees.
Tsipras on Tuesday accused international creditors of trying to "humiliate" the country and attacked the IMF for "criminal responsibility" for the country's economic suffering.
AFP
