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Brussels - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras expressed optimism on Wednesday about finding a "mutually acceptable solution" with the European Union for his country's bailout woes, after talks with the bloc's top officials in Brussels.
Time is running out for Athens as the European portion of Greece's rescue package is due to expire at the end of the month. Failure to negotiate an extension could lead to a messy bailout exit for Greece and even bankruptcy, analysts fear.
"We respect the rules of the EU," Tsipras said after holding talks with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, EU President Donald Tusk and European Parliament President Martin Schulz.
"We want to recorrect this framework, not to smash this framework. And we believe that, in this framework, we could find a common viable solution for our peoples, for our common perspective," Tsipras said, adding that the talks were going in a "good direction".
Following their meeting, Tusk stressed the need to "find a solution acceptable to all member states involved in the negotiations," adding that these discussions will take place in the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers.
"They will be difficult, [and] will require co-operation and dialogue as well as determined efforts by Greece," Tusk said.
It is "highly likely" that a Eurogroup meeting will take place on February 11, an EU source told dpa. The aim would be to prepare for an EU summit the next day, at which Greece's quest for a bailout renegotiation is expected to be discussed.
The finance ministers would not take "big decisions", the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The next regular Eurogroup meeting is scheduled for February 16.
Several EU officials have already paid visits to Athens since the new government was sworn in, just over a week ago.
Conservative countries reject changes
Honouring his pledge not to wear a tie until the crisis is resolved, Tsipras arrived to meet Juncker with the top of his shirt unbuttoned. After posing for journalists, the two strode off hand in hand in an apparent gesture of unity.
But Juncker had previously warned Greece against overly ambitious expectations, telling EU lawmakers on Tuesday: "We will not change everything due to the result of an election that pleases some and displeases others".
Later Wednesday, Tsipras is expected in Paris for talks with French President Francois Hollande. He has also visited Cyprus and Italy in recent days.
In Frankfurt, meanwhile, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis held what he described as "constructive" talks with European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi.
During their hour-long meeting, Varoufakis said he told Draghi that the economic crisis in Greece could not be treated with the methods prescribed under the terms of the country's bailout programme.
"The programme has fuelled a deflation crisis in the country," the Greek minister said.
He is due to meet on Thursday with German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, having already held talks with his British, French and Italian counterparts.
Varoufakis wants the ECB to grant Greece immediate stand-by support, giving the country around six weeks to formulate a comprehensive proposal to resolve its crisis, he told the Italian newspaper Il Messaggero.
This should include "the possibility to do reforms that are socially compatible; the acceptance that proposals and solutions must first of all aim to solve the humanitarian crisis; and the realization that the Greek crisis is, more than ever, a European crisis," he said.
But the Financial Times newspaper reported on Wednesday that the Frankfurt-based lender is unwilling to consider a debt swap deal proposed by Varoufakis, which would ease the country's repayment obligations.
Tsipras' leftist Syriza party was elected January 25 on pledges to reverse many of the budget cuts imposed in return for bailout loans totalling €240bn.
Greek officials are arguing that softer budget policies and reduced debt repayments are needed to revive growth. But Europe's most fiscally conservative countries, including heavyweight Germany, have rejected the idea of wholesale changes to bailout deals.
