No deal, no cash: Greek government delivers aid ultimatum to IMF

A spokesman for the ruling party in Greece has said there will be no debt repayment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Friday without the prospect of a new aid deal. Nikos Filis, who represents Syriza’s members of parliament, made his comments to Mega TV in Greece as negotiations continue on unlocking €7.2bn ($8bn) in bailout funds, currently being withheld because Athens is refusing to accept financial reforms tied to the cash. Greece’s creditors - the IMF, European Central Bank (ECB) and European Union - produced a new draft offer on Tuesday, hours after the anti-austerity Greek government submitted its own revised terms.

In the last election, Syriza succeeded in talking Greeks into believing there is a simpler way to stay in the euro - a way without major reform efforts that are actually in Greece’s interests. Perhaps they shouldn’t have made promises like that.

German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble

The rival plans are set to be discussed by eurozone finance ministers while prime minister Alexis Tsipras is also due in Brussels for talks with the president of the European Commission. The two sides were said to be closer to a deal but it is clear that differences remain amid warnings that the country risks insolvency by the end of the month unless it accepts the terms being offered by its creditors. The threat issued by Mr Filis emerged at the same time as an interview given by the German finance minister, who accused the Syriza party of misleading voters ahead of January’s election.

You have to act sensibly, that is what makes the current talks with Greece so tiring.

Wolfgang Schaeuble