Creditors back in Greece

Technical aspects were at the center of initial talks in Athens on Monday as Greek authorities and representatives from the country's main creditors sat down again to debate the conditions for yet another bailout program to keep the debt-stricken southern European eurozone nation afloat.

Participants in the talks said they were preparing the ground for negotiations to start in earnest in the following days.

Discussions are aimed at crafting a new rescue package of up to 86 billion euros ($94 billion) to head off Greece's bankruptcy.

"In the interest of all parties, it's important that negotiations proceed at a reasonably rapid pace," the IMF's Mahmood Pradhan told journalists at a conference call.

No time to waste

Greece for its part said it intended to conclude the talks with creditors by August 18, just two days before a 3.2-billion-euro payment to the European Central Bank is due.

The start of renewed talks had been delayed by logistical issues such as where the negotiations should take place.

The European Commission, the ECB and the IMF are to negotiate on behalf of Greece's main lenders, with input also expected from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the euro area's bailout fund.

Prior to the talks, the IMF had warned in a fresh report that Greece remained "a key source of uncertainty" for the eurozone, but conceded that the single-currency bloc was now better prepared to deal with associated risks.

hg/sri (dpa, AFP)