Greece at odds with creditors as definition of progress absent

By Nikos Chrysoloras, Eleni Chrepa & Rebecca Christie

Greece remained far apart from its international creditors on a deal to unlock needed bailout aid, with the two sides unable to even agree on the amount of progress made thus far.

After a Greek official said the country will start drafting an accord at a meeting taking place Wednesday, and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told reporters that a solution is close -- the European Commission responded to say a deal is not imminent and that a lot of work remains to be done.

"We are still not there," Valdis Dombrovskis, the commissioner in charge of euro matters, told reporters in Brussels following the Greek announcement. "We are working toward an agreement as quickly as possible. We are already basically a month behind the schedule."

Greek officials, who had to take a bus to Brussels from Germany after their plane was diverted to Dusseldorf, are set to meet late Wednesday with the European Commission and International Monetary Fund. Time is running out for Greece to receive funding ahead of almost 1.6 billion euros ($1.74 billion) in IMF payments scheduled for next month, with the first of the transfers due June 5.

The Greek official, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private, acknowledged that there are still disagreements with creditors and said that the IMF was a main obstacle to an agreement. Angela Gaviria, an IMF spokeswoman in Washington, declined to comment.

Euro gains

The euro gained 0.2 percent to $1.0889 as of 4:58 p.m. London time. Greek two-year notes rose, pushing the yield 114 basis points lower to 23.77 percent. Greek shares also climbed, with the benchmark Athens Stock Exchange gaining 3.6...