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Greece, creditors still far apart going into new debt talks

Pro-government protesters wave Greek flags in front of Greece's parliament to support the newly elected government’s push for a better deal on Greece’s debt, in central Athens, on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2015. The protests held in Athens by around fifteen thousands supporters of the left-wing Syriza party as the new Greek government on Monday, Feb. 16 presented its proposals to skeptical rescue lenders at a euro zone finance ministers' meeting in Brussels. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) Pro-government protesters wave Greek flags in front of Greece's parliament to support the newly elected government’s push for a better deal on Greece’s debt, in central Athens, on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2015. The protests held in Athens by around fifteen thousands supporters of the left-wing Syriza party as the new Greek government on Monday, Feb. 16 presented its proposals to skeptical rescue lenders at a euro zone finance ministers' meeting in Brussels. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

By Associated Press February 16, 2015 1 min read

ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Greece’s new radical left government and its European creditors are heading into new talks on the country’s stuttering bailout program, but expectations are low.

Asked if he expects a solution at Monday’s meeting in Brussels, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said that what he’s heard of weekend technical-level discussions makes him “very skeptical.”

A Greek government official said Sunday the talks with finance ministers from the other 18 euro countries will be tough, and may not result in a decision.

The official said efforts to win over European creditors to Greece’s anti-austerity drive would be an “endurance course.”

But time is running out. No deal by Feb. 28, when Greece was supposed to conclude a review of its bailout with Europeans, could leave its banks without access to affordable funding.