Greece’s left-wing government wants to get a full bailout deal with creditors this month, rejecting the idea of an extension in negotiations.
Nikos Fylis, a parliamentary spokesman for the ruling Syriza party, said on Wednesday that a proposal by rescue lenders to prolong the talks and give Athens an interim loan is “off the table.”
Greece faces a repayment to the European Central Bank worth more than 3 billion euros on August 20. It hopes to get the first 25 billion euro installment from its bailout by then.
On Wednesday, the ministers of finance and economy, Euclid Tsakalotos and Giorgos Stathakis, held new meetings with bailout negotiators in Athens.
Across town, a Communist-back labour union held a peaceful protest against the government’s new budget austerity measures.
