Roundup: Greek PM calls for national consensus in ongoing talks with lenders

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called on opposition parties on Monday evening to rally in a national effort to pull the country out of the debt crisis and harsh austerity, as critical negotiations on the next steps forward in the cooperation with international lenders continued in Brussels.

"We seek an honest compromise with our partners, but do not expect us to sign a truce with no terms ... Are you going to support the national negotiation?" Tsipras asked, addressing the assembly during a special session on the Feb. 20 Eurogroup agreement and developments in talks with creditors.

The newly elected Greek Leftist leader stressed that the list of reforms Greek technocrats have been discussing since Saturday with foreign technocrats in Brussels in the context of the bridge agreement which links the expired four-year bailout with a new deal due in summer, would radically change Greece.

He accused previous governments of failing to implement the needed reforms to address tax evasion and other chronic malfunctions in Greece's economy.

Tsipras also repeated that a restructuring of the Greek debt load was necessary to maintain the sustainability of the country's finances.

Conservative main opposition leader Antonis Samaras said that his New Democracy party and other parties in the Greek parliament would gladly back policies aimed to stabilize the ailing economy and restore growth.

However, he accused the Radical Left government of leading Greece back to recession and onto the rocks to a possible default and exit from the euro zone or a third bailout program in the best case scenario.

Samaras, who was prime minister until the Jan. 25 general elections, noted that the Leftist government requested consensus, without actually briefing parties and Greek people on the content of negotiations with lenders.

Tsipras did not open his government's cards during Monday's session in the chamber.

"The opposition will not share with you the responsibility of a possible rift with creditors," Samaras concluded.

The debate in Greek parliament came as Greece's state coffers were running out of money this spring and Athens sought an urgent deal with euro zone partners on a reform list in exchange of the immediate release of further aid to the country.

With no international funding for months, Greece was struggling to repay maturing debt to the International Monetary Fund and pensions and salaries, while financial analysts forecast a credit event in April unless Athens receives a new lifeline by its partners.

Greek government sources assured on Monday that the dialogue in Brussels was conducted in a good climate and progress steps were made.

According to the same sources, an extraordinary Eurogroup meeting could follow next week to approve Athens' list and clear the way for the disbursement of a part of the vital fresh aid to Greece.

Greek officials have not formally unveiled the content of the list of proposed reforms, but according to the government sources Athens expected about 3.7-billion-euro (about 4 billion U.S. dollars) revenues this year from a long string of measures.

They included the introduction of taxes on Greek citizens' undeclared deposits abroad, the combating of oil smuggling and tax evasion, favorable terms for repaying overdue debt to the state, as well as the licensing of television stations.

According to the unconfirmed information, the government's list also included 1.5 billion euros revenues from privatizations at Piraeus Port Authority (PPA), regional airports and horse betting licenses, Greek national news agency AMNA reported on Monday. (1 euro = 1.08 U.S. dollars) Endit