12:53Meanwhile, the Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras has spoken to the German chancellor Angela Merkel. Although tensions with Turkey are believed to have dominated discussions, last night’s euro group also got a mention. Greek finance ministry officials have also revealed that they expect the country’s next batch of bailout loans, the fourth tranche under the country’s final bailout programme, to be released by the end of March at the latest. Of the €5.7bn total amount, €3.3bn will be used to cover debt financing needs, €500m will go towards repaying government obligations to the private sector while the remaining €1.9bn will be put towards the cash buffer Athens is currently building to cover post-bailout needs. “Headway is also being made on debt relief discussions,” said one source adding that by March 1st plans will have been drawn up and presented to the Euro Working Group (advising euro area finance ministers) by technical teams visiting Athens.

Source: The Guardian February 20, 2018 08:12 UTC