Tsipras to meet Juncker on second day of Riga summit
On the second day of a European Union leaders’ summit in Riga, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was to meet with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday for talks on the progress of negotiations between Greece and its creditors and its prospects.
The two men were due to meet at 2.30 p.m. on Friday. Tsipras, who had talks on Thursday night with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, said in a brief statement on Friday that those talks had been “very constructive and in a very good and friendly climate” and that he was “optimistic” that a “stable, long-term and viable solution without the mistakes of the past” can be reached.
In comments to Skai television from Riga, government spokesman Gavriil Sakellaridis said he believed a deal can be reached with creditors in the next 10 days.
Merkel, however, said it “was very clear that further work has to be done with the three institutions.”
Reports that Juncker proposed a compromise deal to Greece earlier this week, offering lower primary surplus targets and a partial implementation of measures in exchange for a portion of pending rescue loans, were rebuffed by the EC president and the Greek government.
