“So after the comprehensive Greek proposals, I am confident that we will reach a compromise that will help the Eurozone and Greece to overcome the crisis”, Tsipras said.
The “s finance ministers” meeting - the fourth in less than a week - has been adjourned briefly to allow Greece to come forward with further proposals.
French President Francois Hollande is exhorting Greece and its worldwide creditors to speed up talks on new loans for the country, as a default would affect the entire continent.
“We have to do everything we can and France will set itself to work so that we can have a universal and durable deal”.
The finance ministers’ deliberations took place alongside a meeting of European Union leaders, who are holding a two-day summit in Brussels.
“Another Eurosummit is not foreseen”.
Following today’s failure, the Eurogroup will reconvene on Saturday.
“These issues are putting me and my government in an impossible position, having to make a bad choice among really hard, difficult bad choices”.
Tsipras says such measures have been focusing too closely on healing public finances while worsening the economic plight of Greeks.
After an eight-hour grilling into the night Wednesday, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras left talks in Brussels with the leaders of the three main institutions handling his country’s massive debts without talking to reporters.
A document seen by The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday showed still-major disputes between Greece and its creditors on how Athens can best return to financial health and reduce a debt load of close to 180% of gross domestic product.
He said the Greek side was maintaining its insistence on debt relief as part of any accord, in comments that were echoed by Labour Minister Panos Skourletis.
Meanwhile, a German finance ministry spokesman said the troika’s offer was “very generous” and that ‘it is now very clear it is up to the Greek side to make their contribution.’.
A Greek government official says talks with creditors are proving tough.
Although Greece has agreed to reform its pension system and raise certain sales taxes, it is still demanding its debt be restructured by the European Union. The rejection means Athens is likely to default on a key payment to the worldwide Monetary Fund on Tuesday.
One of the great risks associated with this is that in the absence of a deal, the ECB could be forced to withdraw its emergency liquidity assistance to Greek banks which would force Greece to impose capital controls and possibly prevent banks from opening on Monday.
If Greece’s banks collapse, the government would have to support them itself.
Time must be allowed for the Greek parliament to approve any agreement, and then the eurozone parliaments must also ratify the deal.
Officials from the eurozone, facing the unprecedented loss of one of its members, start talks on a plan B to deal with the nightmare scenario of a “Grexit” - euphemistically known as “the consequences”.
