President to meet leaders of five of Greece's parties

Greece’s president is seeking to end a nine-day deadlock over forming a new government by meeting with five political party leaders.

The Communist Party has declined to attend and the extreme right Golden Dawn party was not invited by president Karolos Papoulias.

No party won an outright majority in Greece’s May 6 election, leading to an impasse that has shaken financial markets around the world and led to questions about Greece’s ability to stay in the 17-nation eurozone.

Power-sharing efforts have failed so far after the left-wing Syriza party, which came second in the vote, insisted that the draconian terms of Greece’s financial rescue agreements be scrapped or rewritten.