Tsipras Says Deal Near Even as He Pans Plan From Greek Creditors

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said the conditions from international creditors for giving Greece more bailout money are “clearly unrealistic.” He also said the nation is getting closer to a deal.

Either way, Greece is hurtling toward a default unless his government seals an agreement or gets another extension before the euro area’s bailout of the Mediterranean nation expires June 30.

Speaking to parliament in Athens late Friday, the embattled Greek leader went on the attack after telling German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande on Thursday that a list of proposals set by creditors to unlock bailout funds can’t be the basis for a deal. German and French officials declined to comment on the contents of the call.

The latest proposal was an “unpleasant surprise,” Tsipras told lawmakers, adding that voters are asking the government “not to succumb to the irrational, blackmailing demands of our creditors.”

“The Greek government cannot consent to unreasonable proposals that call for devastating measures for pensioners and Greek families,” he said. “I want to believe that it was a bad negotiating trick and will be withdrawn.” Even with those comments, Tsipras said Greece is “closer to a deal than ever before.” “I’m sure that in the coming days our realistic and consistent position will be vindicated,” he said.

IMF Delay

Greece notified the International Monetary Fund on Thursday that a 300 million-euro ($337 million) payment due Friday would be deferred and bundled with three more payments at the end of June. The move was a 180-degree turn by the government and caught many by surprise. While bundling the transfers is permitted under IMF rules, the deviation from standard practice adds to signs that Greece may be readying for a potential breakdown of talks after a four-month-long impasse.

“Tsipras has his back against the wall,” said Miranda Xafa, a former Greek representative to the IMF who runs a consultancy in Athens. “If a deal is not reached next week, in time for parliamentary approval of the deal, we are staring at disorderly default, deposit withdrawals, capital controls, and social unrest. I think a deal is in the making.”

While a Greek official had said earlier this week that the euro region was pressing for an agreement to be wrapped up by June 14, Tsipras said Friday that date isn’t a deadline. “There’s no limit to the time for negotiations,” he said.

Tsipras said the IMF’s consent to the bundling means “it’s finally clear to everyone, and mostly understood by the markets themselves, no one wants a rift. And time now is running out not just for Greece, but for everyone.”

The government’s main targets for a deal with Greece’s creditors remain lower primary budget surpluses in coming years, on which the two sides have already agreed, as well as some kind of debt relief and the protection of pensions and wages, Tsipras said.

(Πηγή: bloomberg.com)