Greek minister expresses doubt on debt deal with lenders
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has voiced doubt about an accord on the country’s bailout program with international creditors in an upcoming meeting of the finance ministers of the eurozone.
Asked in Paris late Wednesday whether he thought a deal could be reached at the Luxembourg meeting on Thursday, Varoufakis said, "I don't think so. Now it is up to political leaders to arrive at an accord."
Earlier on Wednesday, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin warned that a failure of talks between Athens and its lenders would have "extremely serious" consequences for Europe.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble also noted that he was not hopeful that Greece and its creditors could seal a deal at the Luxembourg meeting.
The remarks come as the upcoming meeting of eurozone finance ministers is seen as one of the last chances for Greece to unblock funds needed to avert a possible default.
This is while the Greek central bank has warned that the cash-strapped country could be forced out of the eurozone and the European Union if it fails to ink the bailout agreement.
Athens has been unable to borrow on international markets over the past years. It has presented a list of reforms needed to restart bailout loan payments, but the creditors have described Greece's proposals as insufficient.
In 2010 and 2012, Greece received two bailouts worth a total of €240 billion (USD 272 billion) from the troika of lenders -- the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Commission -- following the 2009 economic crisis.
The government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, whose leftist Syriza Party stormed to victory in late January elections, has tried to renegotiate the terms of the bailout in return for implementing harsh austerity measures.
SSM/AS/MHB
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