Greek PM ‘certain’ euro zone will accept loan deal, Germans soften
February 20, 2015
Greece’s new prime minister said on Friday he was certain euro zone finance ministers would accept Athens’ request for an extended loan as EU paymaster Germany softened its hostile tone. Hours before the talks, leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in a statement to Reuters: “I feel certain that the Greek letter for a six-month extension of the loan agreement with the conditionalities that accompany it will be accepted”.
A report by German magazine Der Spiegel that the European Central Bank was making contingency plans for a possible Greek exit from the currency area if the talks fail, on which the ECB declined comment, highlighted the high stakes.