Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had a 30-minute meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande on Friday morning in which he expressed his frustration over the insistence of lenders on such harsh measures for Greece. Tsipras briefed his two counterparts on the new Greek proposal that was tabled at Thursday’s Eurogroup and underlined that the Greek government cannot comprehend why lenders insist on austerity measures when all indicators show that further austerity cannot help with Greece’s problem but can only make it worse. Allegedly, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was also present at the meeting between the three country leaders. According to Reuters, the three leaders also discussed the possibility of a new bailout extension. According to a French source cited, “In essence, the difference between the two sides is not that big. The three leaders talked about what should be done today and tomorrow (Friday and Saturday) so that issues such as reforms, bailout program extension and further funding, must be resolved. Greek government sources said that negotiations will continue even after Friday evening’s Eurozone summit. A crucial for Greece Eurogroup will convene on Saturday for a last-minute agreement. Meanwhile, German officials say that now it is up to the Greeks to move. “It is now very clear that it is up to the Greek side to make their contribution to a solution to the problem,” German finance ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger told a government news conference. “Our goal is to keep Greece in the euro. We will go to Brussels tomorrow with the goal to reach a deal,” Jaeger said. At the same time, a german government spokeswoman added that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had made clear that time was getting short for Greece. The technical teams of Greece and creditors continue the intense negotiations in order to hammer a single, comprehensive text in which they both agree and present it to Saturday’s Eurogroup.
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