Euclid Tsakalotos

The Greek government submitted a three-page budget proposal to its creditors in Brussels in a bid to unlock bailout funds, two international officials with direct knowledge of the discussions said.

Representatives of Greece?s creditors were on Monday awaiting revised proposals from Athens as international pressure mounted for a reform deal, with US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel pushing for swift action to clinch an agreement.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis described as ?productive? and ?extremely friendly? his discussion with his German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble in Berlin on Monday.

?Dr Schaeuble and I had a long productive conversation,? said Varoufakis after their meeting. ?We were not negotiating, we were establishing common ground.?

Alternate International Economic Relations Minister Euclid Tsakalotos on Thursday refuted that he spoke of a bailout program in his interview with German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) dated May 27.

By Lefteris Papadimas & George Georgiopoulos

Greece emptied an emergency IMF holding account to repay 750 million euros ($839 million) due to the international lender, a Greek central bank official said, avoiding default but underscoring the dire state of the country's finances.

The Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) government of Greece is pinning its hopes on the stand of the European Central Bank (ECB) to avert a cash crunch. Top officials met with ECB Chief Mario Draghi who, at this stage, wants to keep Greece afloat.

Hopes that some progress has been made in ongoing negotiations between Greece and its creditors were mitigated on Tuesday as Athens indicated that differences between the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission were obstructing progress.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has received the support of PM Alexis Tsipras to participate in the upcoming meeting of the finance ministers in the Eurozone.

The statement was made by Government Spokesperson Gabriel Sakellaridis, as reported by Katimerini daily newspaper. He announced that the Finance Minister has always had the full support of PM Tsipras.

As negotiations continue at the technical level in Brussels, Greek government officials have significant meetings planned on Tuesday in European capitals in a bid to tackle the country?s looming cash crunch even as the International Monetary Fund raises the pressure.

The talks on the Greek debt between the country and its international creditors are finally making a progress after Athens replaced the head of its negotiation team.

The negotiations had been led by Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, but the change was necessitated as he was increasingly being criticised by his European partners.