Greek debt crisis: Tsipras makes new proposals to EU leaders

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has presented EU leaders new proposals on a "mutually beneficial deal" to solve the Greek debt crisis, according to his office.

“The prime minister has presented the three leaders the Greek proposals on a mutually beneficial deal, which will provide a definitive solution, rather than postponing the solution to the problem,” the cabinet spokesman told media on Sunday.

Tsipras offered a new solution during a telephone conversation between Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel, France’s President Francois Hollande and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

Hollande confirmed that Greece has presented new proposals to its creditors on Sunday.

"Greece sent to the European Commission, and I think to the institutions - that is the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank - its new proposals," he told reporters in Milan. The French president added that some EU states have copies of the proposals.

Following a cabinet meeting, Tsipras plans to head to Brussels for the extraordinary EU summit to agree on Athens’ debt deal and its status in the bloc.

Greece is locked in negotiations with its creditors - the IMF, the ECB and the European Commission – over its €240 billion debt. The total Greek debt currently stands at €316 billion, with fears mounting that the country could default without a deal with creditors and leave the eurozone.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble insisted on Sunday that Athens should implement the Troika’s demands for reforms by the deadline set for the end of the month.

“Our stabilization policy has worked in recent years in the European countries where reforms have not only been agreed to but also implemented,” he said. Speaking in Rasdorf, central Germany, Schauble added that Greece could avert a default “as long as reforms are carried out.”

He warned the EU leaders against softening their stance, saying “if we can’t even rely on what we’ve agreed, then trust in Europe can’t grow.”

Ahead of the summit, the Greek minister of state said that his country doesn’t need more help from the IMF.

"I am one of those who think that the IMF should not be in Europe. I hope we find a solution without its participation," Nikos Pappas told the daily Ethnos on Sunday.

READ MORE: IMF ‘failed’ in Greece, Ukraine – fund’s executive director to RT

He added that the agenda of the Washington-based fund is not European, and Europe "can continue without it and its money."

Doubts have previously been raised on the role of IMF in Greece. The fund’s Executive Director Paulo Nogueira Batista told RT that IMF’s program in Greece has failed.

“The Greeks are suffering a lot from misguided decisions that were taken not only by the IMF, but also by the previous Greek governments, by the European authorities, which led Greece to a serious impasse,” he said Friday on the sidelines of the 19th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. “There are cases which are very difficult, or failures. I think Greece is one of them.”

On Sunday, French President Francois Hollande called for a speedy solution of the Greek crisis, saying “there is no time to lose.”

“Every day counts. Talks and negotiations must continue so that an agreement is reached," Hollande said at a televised joint news conference with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi in Milan.

Renzi, in his turn, said: "We are all convinced of the need to offer a solution that allows Greece to remain part of the euro zone."