Greece says a deal with creditors will be reached in the next 10 days, and aims to meet all payments in time while the eurozone says “a lot is still left to do.” A Troika deal will unlock the much-awaited €7.2 billion bailout for cash-strapped Athens.
Conditions have matured for talks to progress further and in the next 10 days for the deal to be sealed, government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis told Skai TV Friday.
“I am optimistic we can soon reach a long-term sustainable and viable solution without the mistakes of the past - and Greece will soon come back with cohesion and growth,” Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told reporters after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande on the sidelines of EU summit in Riga on Thursday, according to Bloomberg.
The Greek government aims to meet all of its payments and has proven this with a great effort under very difficult conditions, according to Sakellaridis. The priority will be given to domestic needs.
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While Athens suggests the deal with the Troika of lenders is close, eurozone officials are not so optimistic. There is a lot further work to do between Greece and its creditors, and they should work very intensively together to reach a conclusion, Angela Merkel told journalists on Friday at the Eastern Partnership summit in Riga.
On Thursday Athens said it would fail to pay the next €300 million repayment to the IMF by the June 5 deadline unless it receives extra financial aid from creditors. The country raided its International Monetary Fund reserves last week for a €750 million debt payment to the IMF.
Greece owes more than €320 billion to its external creditors, and is counting on a €7.2 billion International Monetary Fund loan installment. It has to find a compromise with Troika which is demanding public sector reforms, a crack down on tax evasion, as well as the adoption of a sustainable budget, before it releases the money.