Greece’s game of brinkmanship with its creditors has stepped up a gear as prime minister Alexis Tsipras said Athens was seeking a viable, long-term deal that would pull the country out of economic crisis but faced a deadlock with creditors over debt restructuring.
“It is crucial that we strike a viable deal,” Tsipras said. “It is crucial to end this vicious cycle and to not be forced to go to a deal which, in six months’ time, will bring us back to the same point.”
Tsipras said the main factor blocking a deal was differences between its European and IMF creditors over debt restructuring.
“The big contradiction is the IMF’s presence, which wants measures and a restructuring, (whereas) the others want measures but no restructuring.”
Greece needs a deal to unlock €7.2 billion (£5.2 billion) in bailout funds by the end of the month and avoid a default, but is refusing to compromise over lenders’ demands to cut pensions.
The FTSE was on the back foot again today, hitting a five-month low following a heavy sell-off yesterday when crunch weekend talks broke off without a deal.
