Greece urges creditors to back its economic recovery

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras urged Greece's international creditors to honor pledges and implement specific measures by the end of 2016 to make the Greek debt load sustainable and support Greece's economic recovery.

"We are not just requesting, we are demanding and expecting -- on the basis of the deal we are implementing -- the specific measures which will make the debt sustainable," Tsipras said in an interview published by local newspaper Real News on Sunday.

The debt relief will open the way to economic recovery, he said.

A new round of talks between the Greek government and international creditors will resume on Monday in Brussels during the first Euro Working Group meeting after the summer lull.

Tsipras said that his government is keeping its part of the deal and will push lenders to do the same.

Greece believes that any continuation of harsh austerity will undermine all sacrifices made by Greek people to overcome the crisis, fuel recession and unemployment rates.

Under the previous agreement with international creditors, Greece must meet budget surplus targets of 0.5 percent of the GDP this year, 1.75 percent in 2017 and 3.5 percent in 2018, among others.

Greek officials recently have insisted that the goal is not feasible and requested some alterations.

Tsipras criticized once again in particular Berlin's insistence on "suffocating" fiscal discipline, warning that the "EU is like a sleepwalker nearing the edge of the cliff."

The Greek prime minister has invited leaders of countries in southeastern Europe to meet in Athens on Sept. 9 ahead of the EU summit on Sept. 16 to discuss solutions to the common challenges.

French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi among others have responded positively, according to Greek government sources.

"The aim is not to create a new alliance of the South, but to bolster cooperation with other countries and speak about the need to promote social cohesion with imminent initiatives, to allocate more funds to support growth and deal with unemployment," Tsipras stressed.

Greece has been relying on international rescue loans since 2010, when its economy collapsed. It will be eligible to receive the remaining third bailout tranche of 2.8 billion euros (3.1 billion U.S. dollars) if it passes further reforms requested by creditors. Endi