Greece’s chief negotiator seeks flexibility from lenders

Athens looks forward to more flexibility from creditors in the next days, a top Greek negotiator said on Tuesday, suggesting Greece is holding out hope for a last-minute deal to prevent the country's exit from the eurozone despite the current impasse.

"So what does the Greek government think of the proposed flexibility of the Institutions? It would be a great idea," Euclid Tsakalotos, who has been leading Greece's talks with lenders, said in a statement.

"We look forward to greater flexibility in the days to come."

Tsakalotos added that Greece's upcoming referendum on the bailout conditions — a gambit that has angered creditors — is a part of the negotiating process, rather than a substitute to the talks.

The statement, in which Tsakalotos summarizes the last months of negotiations, adds that Greece's economy would not have improved under the proposals of international lenders.

[Reuters]