Merkel says Greek deal still possible if Athens shows the will

Berlin, 18 June 2015 (MIA) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday a deal between Greece and its creditors was still possible if Athens showed the necessary will, amid mounting pessimism that the austerity-hit country might crash out of the euro zone, Reuters reports.

Neither side has shown any sign of yielding, with creditors insisting it is up to Greece to make concessions to secure a cash-for-reforms deal so the government can honor looming debt repayments and avoid a potentially disastrous default.

Far from giving ground, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras launched a new attack on the lenders in an article in a German newspaper, slamming what he called their "blind insistence" on pension cuts he said would worsen his country's crisis.

The leftist leader began a two-day visit to Russia to attend an economic forum in St. Petersburg as euro zone finance ministers gathered in Luxembourg to discuss the impasse. Given that Athens ruled out bringing new proposals to the discussion, hopes for a breakthrough at the meeting have all but vanished.

Arriving for the Luxembourg meeting, EU Economics Commissioner Pierre Moscovici told reporters he didn't want the debt standoff to turn into a rerun of the Battle of Waterloo on the 200th anniversary of the historic defeat for France.

"Today is an important date and I have no desire to see us return to the age of Waterloo when the Europeans were all lined up against a single state," he said.

With European leaders and Greece's central bank warning a possible "Grexit" was on the horizon, European shares fell and Greek shares .ATG hit a new three-year-low.

In a sign of growing nervousness among many Greeks about their country's fate, pro-euro demonstrators will hold a rally in central Athens, calling for an end to the deadlock. That comes a day after anti-austerity protesters rallied in support of the government and against policies set by lenders.

"I'm still convinced: where there's a will, there's a way," Merkel told German lawmakers, repeating a message from last week. "If those in charge in Greece can muster the will, an agreement ... is still possible."

Merkel faces growing opposition from within her ruling conservatives to granting Greece any more bailout money, with a narrow majority of Germans now in favor of Greece leaving the euro zone.

Having been voted into power in January on a pledge to roll back austerity, Tsipras's leftist government has balked at demands for new pension cuts and tax hikes on basic goods like food and electricity.