ATHENS, May 23 -- Following the latest Euro Group meeting in Brussels on Monday which ended inconclusive, Greece's government retained optimism on Tuesday that a comprehensive, compromise deal can be reached by mid-June on the conclusion of the pending bailout review and the settlement of the Greek debt issue.
"It was not possible to bridge the differences and come up with a concrete solution... We decided it was preferable to postpone the talks for a few more days to reach the best solution at the next Euro Group on June 15," government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos told a press briefing in Athens.
The Greek official explained that the main obstacle on Monday was once again the diverging views between mainly Germany and International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding the size of the Greek debt burden and its sustainability at the end of the current third bailout so that IMF gets fully on board.
The gap between the two sides has been reduced lately, but issues remain to be clarified, Tzanakopoulos said.
"There is no connection between the disbursement of the next loan installment and the outcome of the negotiations on Greek debt," he stressed when asked whether Greece may face difficulties to pay off 7 billion euros (7.86 billion U.S. dollars) in maturing old debt in July.
In his first comment after Monday's Euro Group meeting, Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos also appeared certain that a comprehensive agreement on the release of the next loan tranche and the process to further debt relief can be reached within the next three weeks.
"I'm quite confident that if all sides are in a mood to compromise, it should not be beyond the wit of man to find that compromise within three weeks," Tsakalotos said, according to an e-mailed press release from his office.
The Greek minister stressed that the optimism was also shared by Greece's interlocutors who recognized that Athens has met its commitments and now is the turn of lenders to clarify the debt relief measures.
The government's optimism was not shared by most Greek media and people in the streets of Athens on Tuesday.
"New thriller over the solution on debt" was the main title on the first page of Imerissia (Daily) newspaper. "Fierce conflict between Schaeuble and IMF" was entitled the top story of Ethnos (Nation), while Dimokratia (Democracy) asked "What else do you want".
"We are tired of endless talks and negotiations. We want a clear final solution now," Spyridoula Karagiorghou, a 44-year-old unemployed accountant told Xinhua on Tuesday.
"We cannot keep walking into the unknown forever anxious about what they will decide for us in Brussels in six months or a year from today. We need clarity and stability in our lives to be able to dream and work for a better future again. Seven years of uncertainty and pain is enough," Karagiorghou said.
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(人教版浙江专用)课件:选修八Unit 5 Meeting your ancestors
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(大纲版)课件:SBⅠ Units 1 Good friends
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(人教版浙江专用)课件:语法专项训练(十二)
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(人教版浙江专用)课件:必修三Unit 5 Canada-“The True North”
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(大纲版)课件:SBⅡ Units 17 Disabilities
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(人教版浙江专用)课件:选修六Unit 1 Art
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(人教版浙江专用)课件:语法专项训练(二)
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(人教版浙江专用)课件:语法专项训练(四)
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(人教版浙江专用)课件:选修八Unit 2 Cloning
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(人教版浙江专用)课件:选修六Unit 3 A healthy life
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(人教版浙江专用)课件:语法专项训练(七)
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(人教版浙江专用)课件:语法专项训练(三)
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(人教版浙江专用)课件:语法专项训练(一)
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(大纲版)课件:SBⅠ Units 5~8篇首
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(人教版浙江专用)课件:必修三篇首
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(人教版浙江专用)课件:选修六Unit 2 Poems
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(大纲版)课件:SBⅠ Units 5 The silver screen
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(人教版浙江专用)课件:必修四Unit 3 A taste of English humour
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(人教版浙江专用)课件:语法专项训练(九)
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(人教版浙江专用)课件:选修七Unit 5 Travelling abroad
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(人教版浙江专用)课件:必修五Unit 5 First aid
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(大纲版)课件:SBⅡ Units 10 Frightening nature
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(人教版浙江专用)课件:选修八Unit 4 Pygmalion
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(人教版浙江专用)课件:选修七篇首
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(大纲版)课件:SBⅠ Units 1~4篇首
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(人教版浙江专用)课件:必修五Unit 2 The United Kingdom
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(人教版浙江专用)课件:语法专项训练(十)
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(人教版浙江专用)课件:必修五Unit 4 Making the news
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(大纲版)课件:SBⅠ Units 3 Going places
2017全新教程高考英语总复习(人教版浙江专用)课件:语法专项训练(五)