Gabriel Sakellaridis

Greece's government is sticking to its non-negotiable 'red lines' on labour and pension issues and expects its EU and IMF creditors also to make concessions to reach a deal, the government spokesman said on Thursday.

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.

By Nikos Chrysoloras, Jeff Black & Marcus Bensasson

Greece is still far from an agreement with its international creditors as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras tries to persuade officials to ease the flow of liquidity to the country.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis enjoys the support of the prime minister and will take part in the next meeting of euro zone finance ministers, government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis told reporters on Monday.

"The head of the negotiating team is Mr. Varoufakis, who has the full confidence of the government,» Sakellaridis said.

Talks between cash-strapped Athens and its institutional lenders ended on Sunday – as previously scheduled – without a final deal achieved, winding up a marathon round of negotiations that began on Thursday within the so-called “Brussels Group” framework.

Greece reshuffled its bailout-negotiation team in a political move aimed at easing negotiations with EU partners. Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis was reined in after three months of talks with Greece’s creditors failed to unlock aid and resulted in acrimony at Friday’s Eurogroup meeting.

The government on Tuesday set out the basic axes of an emergency plan to deal with an increased influx of immigrants into the country.

Greece's energy minister Panagiotis Lafazanis is visiting Moscow on Monday in a bid to arrange more favourable terms for imports of Russian gas, according to a report in Germany's Spiegel Online.

Greece is preparing a package of reforms that will contain many of the government?s election pledges but will also satisfy many of the lenders? demands regarding changes they want to see the country make, the coalition says.

Former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Thursday ratcheted up the rhetoric of the main opposition New Democracy party, which he still leads, in a scathing statement which accused the SYRIZA-led coalition of misleading voters over the agreement signed at the February 20 Eurogroup, which, he insisted, is an extension of the memorandum followed by the previous government.