Greek deal ‘not done’, despite IMF payment

Greece made a small interest payment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) yesterday, but European lenders dashed hopes for a cash-for- reforms deal before a more crucial, bigger instalment Athens must pay next week.

Leftist prime minister Alexis Tsipras’s government sought to shift blame on Tuesday onto the eurozone and IMF for a lack of agreement in the three-month-old negotiations, charging that each was setting different “red lines” on multiple issues from pension and labour reforms to the primary budget surplus.

However, EU officials accuse Greece of failing to produce enough concessions ahead of Monday’s Eurogroup meeting of eurozone finance ministers and the group’s chief, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said an agreement then is no longer possible.