Greece and its international creditors were "very close" to a loan deal for the cash-strapped country, a Greek junior minister said Sunday, a day ahead of a key meeting in Brussels. "After weeks of painful negotiation, if the other side is willing, it will become apparent that... the deal is very close and will be sealed in the coming period," Euclid Tsakalotos, one of Greece's main negotiators, told Avgi daily.
Tsakalotos, a junior foreign minister, said Athens and its creditors were "politically apart" on labour and pension issues and that some areas "will remain open until the last minute".
At a meeting of eurozone finance ministers on Monday, Greece is hoping for a "positive statement" on negotiations that would allow for a portion of its 7.2 billion euros ($8.1 billion) in remaining bailout loans to be released, officials have said.
European officials have, however, played down the likelihood of a deal being agreed on Monday.
"We have made progress, but we are not very close to an agreement," Eurogroup chair Jeroen Dijsselbloem told Italy's Corriere della Sera daily.
"It will surely not be reached at the Eurogroup meeting on Monday," he said. Greece has been squeezing funds from the central and local governments to be able to meet its international loan payments. Without fresh bailout funds, Athens could face a default and messy exit from the euro within weeks, analysts say.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, a leading critic of the new Greek government's policy plans, warned Sunday of the risk of sudden insolvency.
"Experience elsewhere in the world has shown that a country can suddenly slide into insolvency," he told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.