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1st LD Writethru: Eurozone' s Greece talks to continue on Thursday

Xinhua, June 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

Eurozone financial ministers meeting suspended late Wednesday, two hours after the group's critical talks aiming to secure a deal to save Greece from default, and is set to resume on Thursday.

"We have not reached agreement yet," Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem told reporters. "But we are determined to continue our work towards doing what is necessary."

"We will now adjourn the meeting and reconvene at one p.m. tomorrow," he added.

Sources close to the European Union (EU) said that the suspension was to pave way for Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' one-to-one talks with leaders of the country's international creditors.

Media reported that creditors have asked for a whole change to pension proposals presented by Tsipras on Monday morning before an emergency meeting among eurozone countries' leaders late that day.

Monday's emergency summit, however, failed to seal a deal, and the eurozone had to convene the Wednesday meeting to finalize Greece' proposals.

Tsipras tweet hours before the meeting, saying that "either they do not want an agreement or they serve specific interests in Greece," which arouses concern that whether Greece and creditors would reach agreement saving Greek from a possible exit from euro.

Greece has to repay a 1.6-billion-euro (about 1.79 billion U.S. dollars) loan to the IMF by the end of this month. The country will face default if fails to make the repayment, which may trigger "capital controls" on its banks.

EU leaders are due in Brussels for a summit on Thursday and Friday. Greece debt talks are expected to become a major topic. Endit