Greek Aid Talks With Troika To Resume 1700 GMT

The Greek Finance Ministry said that it is scheduled to resume its aid talks with international lenders at 1700 GMT Tuesday.


Greek officials said overnight that they had "a productive and substantive discussion" with the country's official creditors in talks aimed at releasing a new slice of bailout aid, and a Greek finance ministry official said an agreement was close.

Following Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos's conference call Monday evening with the troika--the International Monetary Fund, European Commission and European Central Bank--the ministry said another call would take place Tuesday, after technical discussions. A Greek official said an announcement of the result of the call was likely to come on Wednesday.

There was no immediate response from the troika.

Greece's government is scrambling to meet conditions for a fresh infusion of official aid, and worries about a looming default have undermined sentiment in markets across the globe.

Greece's official lenders are seeking hard evidence that Athens intends to take action to close a budget deficit now set to exceed its targets. They are threatening not to release EUR8 billion ($11 billion) in bailout funds, without which Greece will likely run out of money next month.