Greek government formation, May

Last week, I had to call my bank in Athens. I talked to a helpful lady who dealt with my query immediately. But I could not hang up without asking the situation in Greece. "Is it getting very difficult for you?" I asked. "Yes, there is a bit of tension, these days," the lady replied, calmly. It was obvious that she was told not to cause panic to customers.

Greece does not want any more help from the IMF, minister of state Nikos Pappas said on June 21 on the eve of a summit which could determine whether the country crashes out of the eurozone.     

Alexis Tsipras is traveling to Russia again on Thursday for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a time when there is concern as to whether a Greek exit from the eurozone is inevitable. Tsipras is meeting with Putin on the sidelines of a major economic forum in St. Petersburg amid speculation as to whether Moscow could extend credit lines to bail out Greece.

France?s European commissioner, Pierre Moscovici, said requests being asked of Greece were far from ?crazy,? amid the direst warnings yet from the Greek central bank chief about the consequences of failure to reach an accord.

Greek talks stalled after Sunday night’s deadlock in Brussels with the Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) government calling on the European leadership to take initiative to bridge the gap between Greece and its international creditors from the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.

The Telegraph’s article, titled “Greece accuses Europe of plotting regime change as creditors draw up ultimatum”, focuses on Greek prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ accusations that Europe’s creditor powers are trying to subvert Greece’s elected government “after five years of ‘pillaging’ warning in solemn terms that his country will defend its sovereign dignity whatever the consequences.”

Opposition leaders reacted to Sunday’s abrupt end of negotiations in Brussels between the Greek government and creditors, with New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras referring to a “threat” entailed with a Eurozone exit and a return to a national currency.

Greece needs to clinch a deal with its EU-IMF creditors at a eurozone meeting on June 18 to prevent it from defaulting on its debt, two ministers said on Friday.

Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said in an interview with Mega channel that a deal "will come about by June 18 or never".

The International Monetary Fund lifted the stakes in Greece’s stalled debt talks on Thursday by pulling its delegation out of negotiations in Brussels. The surprise move came as the EU warned Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to stop gambling with Greece’s future and make crucial but painful reforms (such as sacrificing pensions) that would avert a devastating default.

The leaders of Greece, Germany and France agreed June 11 to intensify efforts for a bailout deal after late night talks aimed at preventing Athens from going bankrupt ended without a breakthrough.