Greece expected to ask for loan extension
Reports say that Greece will request a six-month extension of its loan agreement
Greek government officials have said that the loan would not be an extension of the current bailout agreement, which includes firm austerity measures.
On Monday night, Greece rejected an extension of its €240 billion bailoyt, labelling it “absurd”. However, without an appropriate deal, Greece would likely run out of funds.
The eurozone has given Greece until Friday to decide whether it wants to continue with the current bailout deal, but Greece wants to replace the bailout with a new loan that it says would give it more time to find a permanent solution to the debt crisis.
Greece's current bailout expires on 28 February, and any new agreement would need to be approved by national governments, so time to reach a compromise is running out.
Earlier Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called for a vote to scrap its austerity programme on Friday, the same day as the eurozone deadline.
"We will not succumb to psychological blackmail," Tsipiras said.
"We are not in a hurry and we will not compromise."
Tsipiras’ government was elected with a rallying cry to end austerity in the country,
The BBC reported that earlier on, Germany's Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, said that Greece needed to make up its mind whether it wanted to extend the bailout programme.
"None of my colleagues so far understands what Greece wants... whether Greece itself knows is not clear either," he said.
