The Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said the Greek request for an extension of the loan to the creditors of the eurozone will be drafted in such a manner acceptable to both Greece and Europeans.
Greek request has been a contentious issue in the arduous negotiations between the new government of Greece and the rest of the 19 eurozone countries, since it concerns the future of Greece in the area that shares a common currency.
The creditors say that Greece has until Friday to request the extension of rescue loan. Athens says that places the order, but that will be for your loan agreement and not for austerity measures that have been put forward as a condition for the loan for 240,000 million.
Varoufakis said the request ” be drafted in such a way that covers both the Greek side as the president of the Eurogroup, “he said in reference to the Dutch Minister of Finance Jeroen Dijsselblem, who chairs meetings of finance ministers of the eurozone.
Varoufakis said optimism of a positive response on Thursday or Friday.
Germany, its main creditor, quickly said that was skeptical of any new proposal, while the European Commission said it first would like to see what is included the proposal.
Gavriil Sakellaridis, Greek government spokesman said the plan contemplates Athens extend the loan agreement for 240,000 million that has buoyed the country since 2010, but apparently not including measures austerity.
“We believe the bailout terms can not be maintained in any way” Sakellaridis told private television station Antenna TV.
The Greek stock shares closed up 1 % after days of losses, and the Euro Stoxx 50 index eurozone rose 0.5%.
The budgetary measures have become a major point of contention at this stage of the negotiations.
Both parties agree that Greece needs external support to stay afloat and buy time for a more detailed negotiations.
The new government of the radical left in Athens insists he will not accept any extension Rescue that includes strict terms under which the loans were issued. Strong spending cuts and revenue worsened the economic depression and caused unemployment to soar above 25%.
Greece’s creditors in the 19 eurozone countries have given the country until the end of this week to request an extension of the bailout agreement, including fiscal austerity measures, after Monday’s talks failed to make any progress.
In those conversations, Varoufakis told his European counterparts that the country was ” ready to request an extension of our loan agreement until the end of August, or any other time that the Eurogroup decides “. He added that Greece would also accept “certain sensitive conditions” during that period, but gave no details of what could be, according to a transcript of the speech released by the ministry.
In an interview with ARD television Tuesday night, the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, was skeptical, and openly mentioned the possibility of Greece leaving the euro.
“We are already used to this, every day there are reports different, and then when we meet are other things, “he said.
” Nobody in the Eurogroup wants to force Greece out of the euro, “said Schaeuble. “That completely depends on the authorities in Greece”
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Geir Moulson in Berlin.; Lorne Cook in Brussels; David McHugh in Frankfurt; and Elena Becatoros in Athens contributed to this report
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