Greece and its international lenders clinched a multi-billion-euro bailout agreement today after marathon talks through the night, officials said, raising hopes that aid can be disbursed in time for a major debt repayment falling due in days.
After a 23-hour session that began on Monday afternoon, exhausted Greek officials emerged in a central Athens hotel to announce the two sides had agreed details of the deal though a couple of minor issues remained to be ironed out.
“Finally, we have white smoke,” a finance ministry official said. “An agreement has been reached. Some minor details are being discussed right now.”
The pact is expected to be worth up to €86bn in fresh loans for debt-ridden Greece, but there was no immediate confirmation of its size.
Greek officials have said they expect the accord to be ratified by parliament on Wednesday or Thursday and then be vetted by eurozone finance ministers on Friday. This would pave the way to aid disbursements by Aug. 20, when a €3.2bn debt payment is due to the European Central Bank.
Greece and Troika agree €86bn bailout terms
Source: reuters