A day after at least one report suggested Greece will “probably [7]” make a bid to join the BRICS bank, marking the dreaded ‘Russian pivot’ and representing the last bit of leverage Athens has left now that regional and local elections in Spain have made it clear that ideologically similar parties may soon sweep to power in other periphery countries much as Syriza did in Greece five months ago, it appears the country and its creditors will miss the Sunday deadline they set for striking a deal that would unlock billions in aid. Although a deal is “close” it will not come today according to an unnamed Greek official who spoke to Reuters [8]:
"Brussels Group talks will continue today, in the evening. Although we don't expect a deal today we are very close," a Greek government official said on condition of anonymity.
Another source close to the talks said the major issues holding up a deal remained. It was not immediately clear if the talks would continue in Brussels on Monday.
In an interview published in newspaper Corriere della Sera on Sunday, Greek Economy Minister George Stathakis said he expected a deal in "a few days", followed by a meeting of euro zone finance ministers to approve disbursement of the aid.
It's quite possible the sense of urgency around the negotiations has now eased because, as we mentioned on Saturday, it looks as though Greece can buy a few weeks by opting to "bundle" its June payments to the IMF, something the Greek government has denied (meaning it's probably assured) but which seems increasingly likely especially given cryptic comments like this one from economy minister George Stathakis:
- STATHAKIS SEES `TECHNICAL SOLUTION' SOON TO MEET IMF PAYMENTS
While it's unclear whether that means the country will find yet another channel by which they can ask creditors to pay themselves back as they did with the IMF last month or whether that's a reference to bundling the payments is unclear, but here's what Stathakis told Corriere della Sera:
"There shouldn't be any neeed [to bundle the payments]"
We shall see.
Meanwhile, Kathemirini says PM Alexis Tsipras has a draft agreement that includes concessions on pensions which will be presented Sunday evening on a teleconference with French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Via Kathimerini [9]:
Government officials attending an emergency summit under Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Saturday prepared a draft agreement as Greek sources cited by the Athens-Macedonia News Agency indicated that negotiators in Brussels were close to a deal on value added tax, curbing early retirements and the gradual merging of pension funds.
According to sources, the draft deal will likely be presented during a new teleconference between Tsipras, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande on Sunday that the Greek premier has requested in a bid to break the current deadlock with a political solution.
The issue of Greece is expected to be discussed on Monday during a meeting in Berlin on Monday between Merkel, Hollande and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. Sources indicated the Tsipras might meet the three on Monday night as pressure grows for a deal in the coming days.
In sum: the tragicomedy continues.
Speaking of tragicomedy, we'll take another opportunity to show you what hell looks [10] like for the Greeks:
[11]
