Angela Merkel expects Greek delays

Germany expects talks with Greece to drag on until the current round of bailout funding runs out and is prepared to play a waiting game until April or May, when the country approaches a cash crunch, a person familiar with the matter said.

Greece would not immediately go bankrupt at the end of February because it has resources to last beyond that point and Germany is ready to wait until there is a more urgent financing need to strengthen its bargaining position, said the source, who asked not to be named.

Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is still assessing Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras’s motives, is taking a tough approach and wants to avoid being drawn into a duel with him, another official said. No one from the chancellery has met with Tsipras yet.