"A 'Grexit' is not our goal but would be unavoidable if there is no solution in the next five days," Guenther Oettinger told the radio station Deutschlandfunk in an interview.
President of the European Council Donald Tusk ruled out earlier in the day another eurozone leaders’ meeting taking place beyond Saturday, saying he expected the Eurogroup "to conclude this process."
Both the French and German leaders stressed the crucial nature of the upcoming meeting to avoid a Greek default and exit from the EMU.
"We will do everything up until [June] 30 so that the Greeks show they are prepared to reform," Oettinger stressed.
Tsipras himself speculated on Wednesday that the creditors’ "odd stance" seems to indicate either a lack of interest in reaching a deal or there may be surreptitious forces at play.
Greece’s latest bailout program from one of its three biggest creditors, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), expires at the end of the month.
The country is due to repay $1.8 billion by June 30 and agree to a new deal with the IMF, the European Central Bank and the European Union to unlock an additional $8 billion.
