Greek Austerity Talks Remain Stalemated

Posted October 15th, 2012 at 11:40 am (UTC-5)
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Greece says negotiations with its international lenders over the country's latest austerity plan are unlikely to be concluded before this week's European Union summit.

Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said Monday Greek officials are still talking with representatives of the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the EU. But he said he did not think a deal would be finished before the two-day Brussels summit opens Thursday.

Greece's lenders have been demanding that it cut $17 billion in spending over the next two years before they will release another segment of the country's second bailout in two years. Athens says it needs the money before it runs out of cash next month, so it can meet its financial obligations.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Greece's financial woes will not lead to any “uncontrollable developments” in the 17-nation euro currency bloc. But she said the Greek government still has a significant amount of work to do to solve its problems.

“We want Greece to stay in the eurozone, but our work is not yet over. There is much to do in coming days and weeks.''