Greek debt deal within next week, says Varoufakis

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has said he expects an agreement with the country's international creditors within the next week.

Greece is fast-approaching bankruptcy and is due to make a payment of €1.5bn (£1.09bn) to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 5 June.

Mr Varoufakis told Star TV a deal with creditors was "very close" and denied the country might leave the eurozone. "Another currency is not on our radar," he added.

The Greek government, EU and IMF have been locked in negotiations over economic reforms they say must be implemented before the latest €7.2bn tranche of the country's bailout fund is released.

Issues over pension reform, deregulation of the labour market, and the re-hiring of 4,000 former civil servants are yet to be resolved. The deadlock has led to concerns that Greece could run out of cash.

Last week, the government raided its IMF reserves in order to pay €750m in debt interest on its existing loans. Mr Varoufakis said a payment deal was on the cards, but insisted he would reject any compromise he considered "non-viable".

"I assure you that if we face a dilemma between paying a creditor who refuses to sign an agreement with us and a pensioner, we will pay the pensioner. I hope we will be able to pay both," he added during the live Q&A (in Greek).

On Thursday the country's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will attend the EU Eastern Partnership Summit, summit in Riga.

Although Greece is not on the agenda EU Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said it was likely to be one of the main topics of conversation. Mr Schinas welcomed the commitment by the Greek government to bring the talks to a conclusion but said more time and effort was needed "to bridge the gaps on the remaining open issues in the negotiations".

(Πηγή: bbc.com)