Greek minister says that Greece will try to bring more to the table in debt talks
Greece will try to put new proposals to creditors in its ongoing negotiations for a debt deal, a Greek minister has said.
Although time is running out for leaders to break the deadlock between Greece and its creditors, the country's state minister has said that Alexis Tsipras will likely speak with European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker on Saturday evening and bring more to the table.
If the country is to avoid defaulting on its debt and leaving the eurozone, Greece has to pay the IMF €1.6bn by the end of the month, for which it needs to make a deal with Europe for the funds.
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Greece has so far resisted demands for pension cuts and tax rises, with its leftist government winning on a mandate to help its people out of austerity. It is unclear how it would compromise in order to appease its international creditors.
State minister, Alekos Flabouraris, told Greek Mega television that:
We will try to supplement our proposal so that we get closer to a solution.
We are not going there with the old proposal. Some work is being done to see where we can converge, so that we achieve a mutually beneficial solution.
The minister is a close aid to Prime Minister Tsipras, and he said that he believed the ECB would not cut off funding due to the consequences. He said such a move would crate a domino effect and topple lenders in other vulnerable parts of Europe.
"I am among those who believe that we are heading towards a solution," Flabouraris said, adding that he believes Tsipras would hold talks with Juncker on Saturday evening.