Greek PM criticizes lenders for "political expediency" after collapse of debt deal talks

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has accused Greece's lenders of "political expediency" due to their insistence that the most indebted country in Europe take further austerity measures.

"They should not regard our sincere desire for a solution and the steps we have taken to bridge the differences as weakness," the leftist leader said in a statement published Monday on Editors' Daily.

His remarks came in reaction to the new collapse of negotiations on Sunday for a debt deal to stave off a looming Greek default and exit from the eurozone.

The two-day talks in Brussels between representatives of the Greek government and creditors over the prerequisites for the disbursement of further aid to Greece ended inconclusively, as had happened several times before.

The next crucial date for the two sides is the upcoming June 18 Euro Group meeting.

On June 30 expires the extension of the bailout agreed last February in order to give time for the two sides to reach agreement on their post-bailout cooperation.

On the same day, Greece needs to repay 1.5 billion euros (about 1.68 billion U.S. dollars) of loan installments to the International Monetary Fund.

Without a debt deal, Athens cannot cover its financial obligations and the countdown to a credit event starts.

Tsipras said in his statement that Greece presented a plan and well-documented counter-proposals during the talks.

"We will be patiently waiting until the institutions join realism," he said. Endi