ATHENS: Greece was expected Wednesday to bid for extra debt crisis aid from the EU without strings attached, ahead of a closely-watched ECB meeting on the country's emergency funds.
Athens will send a letter to Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the head of the Eurogroup, requesting a six-month extension on its European loan agreement while sidestepping the duties of a full-blown bailout, Greek public television said.
"We should extend the credit programme by a few months to have enough stability so that we can negotiate a new agreement between Greece and Europe," Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis told Germany's ZDF.
The request was set to come as the European Central Bank reviews a lifeline for Greek banks known as emergency liquidity assistance (ELA), which is governed by strict criteria and cannot be used to finance the Greek state.
Europe and Greece are racing to reach a deal to avoid a Greek exit from the eurozone, after talks in Brussels ended in acrimony on Monday with both sides digging into their positions.
Prime Minister Alexis Tspiras on Tuesday said Greece had been ready to sign up to a deal drafted by EU Economics Commissioner Pierre Moscovici which hinged on a loan to buy extra time for deeper negotiations -- but it had been thrown out by the eurogroup.
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