German, French, Greek leaders discuss Athens debt crisis anew
German, French, and Greek leaders have held a teleconference over the financial troubles Athens faces.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras discussed Greece’s debt crisis during a Saturday teleconference as time to reach a deal was drawing to a close, a French diplomatic source told AFP.
"They took stock of the situation to help move forward the negotiations between Greece and the three (creditor) institutions," said the source.
The development came on the eve of a G7 summit in Germany, which appears set to be overshadowed by the Greek financial debacle even though Tsipras himself is not attending the high-level event.
Greek government authorities have been engaged in intensive discussions with the troika to receive $8.1 billion in new bailout funds.
However, with no deal on the horizon yet and billions of dollars in loan repayments still due, there are growing fears of a potential Greek debt default that could lead the country towards crashing out of the eurozone.
On Friday, the Greek prime minister called on the nation’s international creditors -- the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the European Central Bank -- to withdraw "absurd" demands for additional austerity cuts in return for unlocking the final $8.1 billion in bailout funds.
Athens also ramped up pressure in the make-or-break negotiations after postponing a key loan repayment to the IMF due Friday, opting instead to bundle four IMF loan payments totalling 1.6 billion euros into a single one due by the end of June.
In yet another sign of rising tensions with Athens, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker rejected a request from Tsipras to talk on the phone earlier Saturday, a day after Greek premier referred to the latest creditor proposals as "absurd."
"I can confirm that there was a request for a call... No phone call today," a commission spokesperson stated.
Moreover, IMF chief Christine Lagarde is also due to join the G7 talks on Monday, while a European diplomatic source said ECB head Mario Draghi will also be present.
MFB/NT
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