Creditors: Greece Committed To Further Spending Cuts

Greece's international creditors called their Sunday talks with Athens productive and said the country was committed to hammering out further spending cuts to secure a new tranche of aid.

The so-called troika of creditors -- the EU, IMF and the European Central Bank -- met about the reforms Greece needs to implement to secure 31.5 billion euros ($39 billion) in aid and stay afloat.

"We made good progress," IMF official Poul Thomsen told reporters after the meeting.

"The discussions on the implementation of the program were productive and there was overall agreement on the need to strengthen policy efforts to achieve its objectives," the creditors said in a joint statement.

"The Greek authorities are committed to proceeding with determination in their work over the next month, and the EC/ECB/IMF staff teams expect to return to Athens in early September to continue the discussions," they added.

The creditors' statement echoed comments by Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras published ahead of the meeting.

"The country is committed to implementing a series of measures and reforms to revive the economy and permanently remove the threat of bankruptcy," Stournaras told the Ethnos newspaper.

He added the next few weeks were crucial for Greece's future, as the troika determines whether to unlock the tranche of aid next month.

Greece has to slice another 11.5 billion euros off its spending plans for the next two years to win the money but further austerity measures are deeply unpopular in a country also struggling with deep recession and high unemployment.

The funds are due to be disbursed in September as part of a 130 billion euros bailout package, Greece's second international lifeline in two years, but the required cuts have been delayed by political turmoil that triggered two elections in six weeks.

Stournaras acknowledged that Greeks have had to endure "major sacrifices" as the new coalition government that emerged after the June election imposes tough austerity measures, including salary, pension cuts and welfare.

"The coming weeks are crucial for the country's survival because if we go down a different path than logic tells us, it could drive us outside the Eurozone and into bankruptcy," he said in the Ethnos interview.

The conservative-led coalition government of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras was formed in June with a pledge to renegotiate the EU-IMF bailout and place more emphasis on growth.

But Greece's European partners have warned that the country is in no position to demand concessions when its reforms are months behind schedule.

"There is a serious effort" to reach an agreement, a finance ministry source said as the talks got under way in Athens.

Stournaras said he hoped Greece could emerge from its deep recession by speeding up a privatization program and structural reforms which are also being sought by its international creditors.

Greece was given a temporary lifeline last week when the ECB agreed on a move which will give Athens access to another four billion euros of funds and ensure its financial survival until September, a German newspaper reported Saturday.