Greek PM to meet Merkel as bailout deal nears
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was expected to meet with Angela Merkel in Brussels Wednesday after the EU's top official for the euro said a breakthrough bailout deal was "days" away, AFP reports.
The mooted meeting with the German chancellor comes with cash-strapped Greece having submitted new proposals to end a standoff with the EU and IMF, which have demanded tough reforms in exchange for giving Athens the final 7.2 billion euros ($8.1 billion) of its bailout funds.
The international rescue package expires at the end of the month, and Athens desperately needs the cash to avoid a default and a possible messy exit from Europe's 19-country single currency area.
Tsipras's meeting with Merkel, along with potential talks with French President Francois Hollande, was due to take place on the sidelines of an EU-Latin America summit.
It was to occur a day after Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU's vice president for the euro, told reporters that reaching an agreement "within [the] coming days is possible."
But he urged the Greeks to show "less tactical maneuvering and more work on substance" to seal a deal.