1st LD: EU summit kicks off as leaders split over Greek debt issue

The leaders of 19 eurozone member countries are gathering here on Sunday to discuss Greece's bailout program as the ongoing finance ministers' meeting has come into a deadlock due to lacking of trust.

The crucial Euro summit along with Eurogroup meeting this weekend was widely seen as "the last try" for Greece to avert bankruptcy and exit from the European common currency zone.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras upon arrival for the summit told reporters outside the European Council building that he was there "for an honest compromise."

"I'm here for an honest compromise," he said, stressing "we can reach an agreement tonight if all parties want it."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters that it is unlikely a deal will be yielded from the crucial summit. "No agreement at any cost," she said, adding that "We have not received a unanimous notification from Eurogroup."

"We are going to examine this evening whether we can start negotiations for an ESM (European Stability Mechanism) program. But whether we succeed remains to be seen," she added.

"Most important currency is trust, and we already missed," said Merkel.

It is being rumoured in Brussels that Germany was pushing a Plan B: a five-year temporary exit of Greece from the eurozone.

In contrast to that, French President Francois Hollande pledged to try best to seek an agreement in the summit.

"France will do everything to reach agreement tonight," he said before heading into the building.

Disagreed with Germany's stands, Hollande insisted that "there's no temporary Grexit. There's Grexit or not Grexit."

After months of tough negotiations, eurozone finance ministers gathered in Brussels on Saturday afternoon with expectations to seal a deal on Greece's bailout program, but doubts on Greece's implementation of the reform measures hiked.

After a marathon meeting ended fruitlessly on Saturday, the finance ministers resumed talks Sunday morning.

Without a debt deal in the coming hours, Greece faces financial collapse and Grexit. Greek banks have been closed for the past two weeks and are running out of cash while the country's economy is suffering from capital controls.

Besides, Greece has been in arrears to the International Monetary Fund since July 1 and faces a 3.5-billion-euro debt repayment to the European Central Bank on July 20. (1 euro = 1.12 U.S. dollars) Endit