Greeks defiant as clock ticks down in debt talks

By George Georgiopoulos & Renee Maltezou

Greece's ruling Syriza party dismissed reform demands from the country's international creditors as "blackmail" on Thursday as crisis talks to avert a debt default and a eurozone exit entered a critical phase.

A parliamentary spokesman for Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's left-wing party struck a defiant tone a day after eurozone finance ministers accused Athens of refusing to compromise despite a looming deadline to clinch a deal.

Tsipras was due to resume talks with Greece's lenders at 9 a.m. (0300 EDT) before the ministers reconvene at 1 p.m. and European leaders begin arriving in Brussels later this afternoon.

Without a cash-for-reform deal in the next 48 hours, the chances of Greece averting a default to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) look slim.

Failure to repay 1.6 billion euros owed to the IMF on Tuesday could trigger a bank run and capital controls, followed by a slide out of the single currency area.

"The lenders' demand to bring annihilating measures back to the table shows that the blackmail against Greece is reaching a climax," Nikos Filis, the ruling SYRIZA party's parliamentary spokesman told Mega TV.

He said the Greek side was maintaining its insistence on debt relief as part of any accord, in comments that were echoed by Labour Minister Panos Skourletis.

"There cannot be a deal without a substantial reference and specific steps on the issue of debt," Skourletis said in an interview with state broadcaster ERT.

On Wednesday, eurozone finance ministers cut short an emergency meeting summoned to approve an agreement after little more than an hour because there was no deal ready for them to discuss.

The frustration was palpable on...