ANKARA
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for the need of a greater intensity in the Greek bailout talks.
Merkel's remarks came as leaders of Greece's institutional creditors -- the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank, and the EU -- met early Tuesday in an effort to accelerate progress.
"Work must now be continued with greater intensity” in the Greek bailout talks, she said in a statement Tuesday.
She said that “[the institutional creditors] have been in closest contact in recent days and want to remain so in the coming days, both among themselves and naturally also with the Greek government”.
The Greek government must make payments totaling about $2 billion by the end of June. It is not clear whether the government will be able to make the payments unless the next €7.2 billion ($7.8 billion) tranche in bailout funds will be released.
A meeting of the Eurogroup finance ministers is scheduled in Luxembourg on June 18. A common proposal by the institutional creditors is expected to be presented to the Greek government before the meeting.
International bank JPMorgan wrote a note to clients on Monday recommending the sale of Greek assets with long-term maturity.
“Although the central scenario is for Greece to reach a compromise before missed payments and/or capital controls, our conviction is not high enough to justify aggressive risk-taking,” JPMorgan analysts said.
Should Greece default on its obligations, the European Central Bank could impose capital controls on Greek banks, limiting withdrawals, as was done in the Greek administration in Cyprus during the crisis it underwent in 2013.
