Brussels---Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras resumed emergency talks with creditors in Brussels Thursday to thrash out a debt deal to save Athens from default, despite having lashed out at lenders for rejecting his reform plans.
Tsipras began a late-night meeting with the heads of the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank, Greece's main bailout monitors, officials said, after seven hours of discussions on Wednesday failed to produce a breakthrough.
Eurozone finance ministers meanwhile halted talks to finalise a deal on releasing further financial aid on Wednesday, saying they did not have enough information to work through the night as planned and that they would start again at 1100 GMT on Thursday.
Time is running out, with Athens needing the extra bailout cash to avoid defaulting on a huge International Monetary Fund payment on June 30, which could send it crashing out of the eurozone with potentially seismic effects for the world economy.
A European source told AFP there was "hope of an agreement between the (creditor) institutions and Greek authorities" from the talks between Tsipras and the EU-IMF overnight Wednesday-Thursday.
"We have not reached agreement yet, but we are determined to continue our work towards doing what is necessary," Jeroen Dijsselbloem, head of the Eurogroup of finance ministers from the 19-country currency union, told reporters after the talks broke up after around one hour.
The Eurogroup talks, the third in less than a week, are expected to restart at 1100 GMT, aiming to approve a deal that can then be rubberstamped by national leaders who are meeting at a summit of the 28-state European Union on Thursday and Friday.
- 'Strange position' -
Eurozone stock markets fell at close, weighed down by renewed concerns about a deal, with Frankfurt dropping 0.62 percent, Paris sliding 0.24 percent, Madrid 0.82 percent lower, Milan down 0.16 percent and Greece losing 1.77 percent.
Anti-austerity leader Tsipras had flown to Brussels early Wednesday for a crunch meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, IMF chief Christine Lagarde and European Central Bank boss Mario Draghi.
But Athens rejected what it said were fresh demands from its creditors on top of a reform plan that it submitted last week to end a five-month standoff that started with Tsipras's election in January.
"This strange position maybe hides two things: either they do not want an agreement or they are serving specific interests in Greece," Tsipras said as he went into the talks.
Tsipras has vowed to end five years of austerity imposed under two bailouts worth 240 billion euros, and has resisted demands by creditors for spending cuts and pension reforms.
AFP
