Greece, rescue creditors in 2nd day of talks on new lifeline

“Negotiations on a memorandum of understanding should now progress as swiftly as possible”.

Both sides say they want a deal concluded before August 20 but Germany, Greece’s biggest and most demanding creditor, said there should be no rush.

A spokesman for the Greek finance ministry said a decision would be published later on Tuesday but did not indicate when trading would resume.

In a telephone conversation with a group of London-based investors after he resigned his post on July 6, Varoufakis claimed that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had “given the green light” for a Plan B before coming to power in January, according to a recording released Monday.

The goal, the maverick economist said, was to create a “functioning parallel system” of liquidity in case the European Central Bank cut off support to Greece’s banks, as indeed it did after talks with the radical left government on new austerity reforms broke down in June. “Nor by the talks with the institutions so far”. Mission heads with the EU and International Monetary Fund arrive in Athens on Wednesday and are expected to be greeted with draconian security as they try to gauge the parlous state of the Greek economy.

Varoufakis was a vocal opponent of the reform programs demanded by the lenders, a major reason the negotiations between Athens and its creditors hit a stalemate in the spring and early summer.

“And this is also what is being discussed right now”.

Greek banks remain under capital controls four weeks after Tsipras called a referendum on a bailout plan.

Member states that can’t afford being in the eurozone at the moment, shouldn’t lay the burden on other countries’ taxpayers.

Tsipras, who remains popular with the nation but seems to be losing his grip on Syriza, said the party had to “regroup” and “clarify” its strategy.

Addressing the party’s political secretariat Monday, the Greek premier urged for unity to address the future challenges.

“The Commission and the International Monetary Fund only provide technical assistance to the tax administration, but certainly do not control the secretary general for public revenues”, Andreeva said.

Despite the fact that these MPs were not expelled by the parliamentary group nor left the party on their own, this puts the survival of the two-party government in doubt. “This is the message we are getting from society and we have to listen to it”. In this context, the issue of Varoufakis’ remarks was rapidly harnessed to escalating pressure for more austerity in Greece. So the government is dreading the inevitable moment this week when the television cameras will be on hand as the officials stride in and out of the ministries – again.

The talks will mostly cover a reform programme that Greece must implement to receive phased disbursements of loans, money it needs to meet its debt service obligations and to help recapitalise the banks. For this reason, Varoufakis said he assembled a small team to work on the secret plan, headed by a “trusted” childhood friend who later became an IT professor at Columbia University and then worked as technology minister under Varoufakis.

The long negotiations over Greek debt have made the experts debate the eurozone structure that allows entry, but doesn’t allow a country to leave.

The Finance Ministry official said there had been no organizational issues and all discussions were taking place at the institutions’ residence.