ATHENS: Greece’s state minister Alekos Flabouraris said he hopes a deal between Greece and its creditors will be reached by 18 June, when the Eurogroup is meeting in Luxembourg, despite a major setback last night (11 June), when the IMF dramatically left talks with Greece.
Flabouraris said he still hoped for a deal and both parties had been optimistic about the talks and developments over the last weeks. “I hope it will come very soon, on June 18, when the Eurogroup takes place,” he told state broadcaster ERT regarding a deal. However, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) gave up last night and said talks were deadlocked over finances, taxes and pensions, the main points Greece and its creditors have stumbled over for a long time.
IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said that the disagreements were too big in those key areas. He told reporters: “There has been no progress in narrowing these differences recently, and thus we are well away from an agreement.” In talks with all of Greece’s creditors, the country’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras came under pressure as the Troika lenders started to lose their patience again in this round of talks.
