Greece's government prepared reform measures on Sunday to secure a financial lifeline from the euro zone, but was attacked for selling "illusions" to voters after failing to keep a promise to extract the country from its international bailout.
Greece
Greek finmin says Greece's euro zone membership a given
Greece's euro zone membership is a given and does form part of negotiations with the country's lenders, the finance ministry said on Sunday.
Eurogroup head responds positively to new Greek letter: government
The head of the euro zone finance ministers responded positively to Greece's request for an immediate start to technical talks with international creditors to conclude the country's current bailout program, a Greek government official said on Saturday.
Greece sends EU reform list, more hurdles before early cash
Greece sent its euro zone partners an augmented list of proposed reforms on Friday but EU officials said several more steps were required before any release of aid funds to a country that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says has a noose around its neck.
Greek PM accuses Spain, Portugal of anti-Athens 'axis'
Greece's leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras accused Spain and Portugal on Saturday of leading a conservative conspiracy to topple his anti-austerity government, saying they feared their own radical forces before elections this year.
Latest News
Germany's EU Commissioner Guenther Oettinger said on Friday he thinks Greece and its creditors should be able to reach a deal but may need another meeting of euro zone leaders next week.
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said on Wednesday he believed euro zone finance ministers would approve an Athens government proposal on extending the country's loan agreement later this week.
Greece is expected to ask on Thursday for an extension to its "loan agreement" with the euro zone as it faces running out of cash within weeks, but it must overcome resistance from skeptical partners led by Germany.
Greece said on Sunday it was confident of reaching agreement in negotiations with its euro zone partners but reiterated it would not accept harsh austerity strings in any debt pact.
The coming week will go a long way to dictating whether Greece remains in the euro zone. A meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Monday is tasked with producing a deal that will keep Greece solvent and which is acceptable to both sides.
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said on Saturday he believed Athens would reach an agreement with its EU lenders about the way out of its international bailout, "even at the last minute".
United States Treasury Secretary Jack Lew called Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday to express support for a favourable outcome in Greece's negotiations with its euro zone partners, Tsipras' office said in a statement on Friday.
Greece will make every effort to reach an agreement with its euro zone partners at Monday's meeting of euro zone finance ministers on how to transition to a new support program, its government spokesman said on Friday.
A surprisingly aggressive dose of monetary stimulus from Sweden's central bank on Thursday injected life back into world markets which had been numbed by the stalemate in talks between Greece and its euro zone creditors.
