Greece crisis: EU bailout talks in Athens delayed

Talks between Greece and its European creditors on a third €86bn (£60bn; $94bn) bailout have been delayed due to logistical problems, officials say.

   Greek officials had been expected to meet representatives of EU creditors in the Greek capital Athens on Friday. But a European Commission spokeswoman later said those representatives would arrive "in the coming days".

   Separately, Greece formally submitted a request for a new loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In a letter to IMF head Christine Lagarde dated 23 July but released to the public on Friday, Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos wrote that Athens was "seeking a new loan".

   Greece had initially planned not to ask the IMF for more funds, reports say. Greek MPs have approved tough new conditions set by the EU lenders for talks on the bailout. It is unclear when IMF officials will be joining the negotiations. The Washington-based IMF wants Greece's debt burden to be reduced to a level it considers "sustainable", but it faces resistance from reluctant European partners.

   EU officials said on Friday that there were "logistical issues to solve" before high-level talks with Athens could begin, but that negotiations were taking place at a technical level.

   The Greek team had been expected to meet top representatives from the European Commission, European Central Bank (ECB) and European Stability Mechanism (ESM) - the eurozone's main bailout fund. Talks on the bailout package are expected to last a month. Tight capital controls, introduced at the end of June, remain in place to prevent a run on Greece's cash-strapped banks.

Πηγή: bbc.com