2nd LD Writethru: Greek, German finance ministers in gridlock after first encounter

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and his Greek counterpart Yanis Varoufakis were at a stalemate at their first meeting together on Thursday in Berlin as new Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Varoufakis are lobbying for a solution to the country's debt problem across Europe.

"We agreed to disagree," said Schaeuble at a joint press conference, adding that trimming Greece's debt was not on the table.

He also said he could not deny his scepticism that some measures announced by the new Greek government "don't necessarily go in the right direction," adding that it was important to follow through with existing agreements.

Schaeuble also called on the new Greek government to continue to cooperate with the so-called troika, consisting of the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Union.

Varoufakis, while pledging that Greece would be a reliable partner for the EU, said the new Greek government wanted to go ahead with reforms that worked, adding that the existing reform program adopted by the former government had not worked.

He said his SYRIZA-led government was seeking a temporary bridging finance program between now and May as well as a new agreement with international creditors afterwards.

Noting that Greece was now in an "emergency situation," Varoufakis said: "We need Germany to be on our side."

Greek debt exceeds 320 billion euros (about 366 billion U.S. dollars), 175 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP). The Greek government has been negotiating with international creditors on its bailout deal. It has to get access to additional bailout funds by the end of this month to avoid a default on maturing loans. Endit