Tsakalotos says overall deal can be reached in three weeks

Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos told reporters on Tuesday that he believed an overall agreement on Greece – that will release bailout funding and detail debt relief measures – could be reached within the next three weeks.

In comments following seven hours of talks in Brussels, Tsakalotos said there was widespread agreement that Greece has met its obligations in terms of adopting the prior actions pledged to creditors.

Officials "commended the quality of the reforms project,” he said, adding that he foresaw no "hiccups" in concluding a pending bailout review.

The minister added that discussions on debt were "difficult" and that officials agreed that further "clarity" was needed on the kind of measures to be taken.

Officials decided that additional time was necessary, he said, in order to better determine the debt measures so that financial markets and the Greek people understand exactly what to expect at the end of the program.

Tsakalotos also noted that it was agreed to keep primary surpluses at 3.5 percent for four years beyond 2018.