Greece believes the demands of its EU-IMF creditors are "irrational", a government source said Sunday after the latest round of talks on its bailout ended without a deal.
"The demands of the creditors are irrational, the discussions lasted 45 minutes," the source said of the crunch talks held in Brussels as cash-strapped Greece faces a likely default on looming debt repayments.
Athens pinned the blame especially on the International Monetary Fund whose position was seen as "intransigent and tough" because it insisted on further cuts for pensions and a rise in value-added tax, the source said.
The Greek government issued a statement shortly before the talks ended saying its delegation in Brussels since Saturday had submitted additional proposals "opening the way to a final accord which will answer the three main questions, that of financial and budgetary (stability) and measures for growth."
But Athens also said it would not budge on pensions and VAT as "these measures touch workers and lead to a new cycle of recession," the statement said.
The government added it was "ready to conclude the negotiations to reach a mutually useful accord."
The talks have aimed to break a five-month standoff dividing the leftist-led Greek government and its creditor overseers, who are demanding reforms in return for the last 7.2 billion euros ($8.1 billion) of Greece`s 240-billion-euro bailout since 2010.
The bailout expires on June 30 and to meet that deadline, a reform deal must be resolved by a meeting of the eurozone`s 19 finance ministers in Luxembourg on Thursday.
