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Eurozone finance ministers fail to strike deal on Greece

Other News Materials 19 June 2015 05:22 (UTC +04:00)
Eurozone finance ministers failed Thursday to find a breakthrough in the Greek bailout crisis, European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said.
Eurozone finance ministers fail to strike deal on Greece

Eurozone finance ministers failed Thursday to find a breakthrough in the Greek bailout crisis, European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said, dpa reported.

"No deal at Eurogroup," he wrote on Twitter. "Strong signal for Greece to engage seriously in negotiations."

He added that the ministers' Eurogroup panel "stands ready to reconvene at any moment."

Fears are mounting that cash-strapped Greece will soon go bankrupt. It is seeking to access 7.2 billion euros (8.2 billion dollars) remaining in its international bailout, but has been struggling for months to agree with its creditors on prerequisite economic reforms.

Time is running short as the European part of the country's bailout is due to expire at the end of this month. If no agreement is reached by then, the country could lose access to the rescue aid altogether.

Greece also has to make a 1.6-billion-euro payment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on June 30. The country will not be granted any leeway, IMF chief Christine Lagarde warned Thursday.

"June 30 is the day when the lump-sum payment is due to the IMF, and there is no grace period or two-month delay, as I have seen [reported] here and there," Lagarde told journalists before joining the finance ministers' meeting in Luxembourg.

"If, on July 1, it's not paid, it's not paid," she added. "[Greece] will be in arrears vis-a-vis the IMF, ... but I hope it's not the case, I really do."

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis had told journalists that he would be presenting his governments' "ideas" in Luxembourg, but it was not immediately clear if new proposals were put on the table.

"The purpose is to replace costly discord with effective consensus," Varoufakis said.

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