Greek Debt Settlement Deal Within Reach – Finance Minister

Greece and its foreign creditors could clinch a debt settlement accord already before this week is out, the Greek Finance Minister announced on Tuesday.

“We are almost there now… I would say this is a matter of just one week,” Bloomberg quoted Yanis Varoufakis as telling the Greek Star TV channel on Monday.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras earlier said that Athens would honor all its financial obligations, both domestic and foreign, and that a new debt settlement deal with the international creditors would be signed.

Government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis said Monday that with the country running low on cash, the deal should be signed before the end of this month.

Greece has been negotiating with the EU and the IMF to refinance the country’s 240 billion euro debt, which piled up after the country was bailed out of an imminent default in 2010 and 2012.

Creditor forecasts that tough austerity measures would enable Athens to pay never materialized.

The leftwing SYRYZA-led government, which took over in January, insisted on a new round of debt settlement talks with the troika of international creditors, but the marathon negotiations dragged on.