Gabriel Sakellaridis

A barrage of comments by representatives of Greece’s international creditors (European Commission, European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund) on Thursday indicate that a solution may not be as close as Greek officials have stated.

With negotiations between Greece and its creditors at a critical phase, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Thursday sought the assistance of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande in a teleconference call.

By Nikos Chrysoloras

Greek officials will revive their bid to access financial aid with finance minister Yanis Varoufakis blaming creditors' insistence on more austerity for the impasse.

A closely watched session of the so-called “Brussels Group” of creditors’ representatives and the Greek government’s negotiators comes on Tuesday, with the differences between the leftist government and its partners now clear and delineated.

Government officials on Monday expressed confidence that Greece was close to a deal with creditors that would allow loans to be unlocked but pressure is growing on Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras from abroad and on the domestic front.

Greece will honour its debt repayment obligations to international lenders "to the extent" that it is able to pay, a government official said on Monday.

The four-month anniversary of radical leftist SYRIZA party’s ascent to power comes as it struggles to clinch a deal to extend bailout financing from international creditors and, more ominously, with several of its main pre-election pledges apparently abandoned in the face of tough negotiations.

On the second day of a European Union leaders' summit in Riga, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was to meet with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday for talks on the progress of negotiations between Greece and its creditors and its prospects.

"Intensive talks on a loan deal with debt-strapped Greece are "making progress," Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem said Tuesday.

"We are intensively busy with the Greeks and we are making progress, I would say cautiously," Dijsselbloem told local television station RTL Z.

By Agnes Lovasz and Paul Tugwell

Greece will continue with efforts to privatize the country's largest port and regional airports as it seeks ways to attract investment for other state assets, Economy Minister George Stathakis said, in a government concession in talks with its creditors.