Merkel hopes Eurogroup meeting to end standoff over Greece
Xinhua, June 17, 2015 Adjust font size:
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Tuesday she was counting on a meeting of euro area finance ministers on Thursday to resolve the standoff over Greece's debt issue.
She made the remarks at a press conference after meeting with visiting Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel here.
The chancellor reiterated she would do everything possible to keep Greece in the euro zone.
"If possible, the three institutions (the IMF, the ECB and the European Commission) should try to reach an agreement with Greece over the fulfillment of conditionality," said Merkel, adding that a joint proposal in this regard provided a basis for Thursday's negotiations at the level of Eurogroup's finance ministers.
"I'm concentrating all of my energy on helping the three institutions find a solution, a proposal," she told reporters.
During a fresh round of negotiations held in Brussels on Sunday, international creditors and Athens failed to bridge gaps between the Greek reform plan and the lenders' requirements.
In a meeting widely seen as Greece's last chance to avoid default, the 19-nation Eurogroup, made up of finance ministers in the eurozone, will seek on Thursday to strike a deal before the country's EU bailout expires at the end of June. Endit