ELMAU, Germany (AP) – A top European Union official says Greece’s creditors didn’t deliver the country a “take-it-or-leave-it” ultimatum to end their standoff over its international bailout.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says his country can’t accept what he called an “irrational” proposal made last week by its bailout creditors – the EU’s executive Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank.
Athens, which faces pressure to agree to painful deficit-cutting measures, wants any deal to lighten its crushing debt load.
Jean-Claude Juncker, the EU Commission president, said Sunday that Tsipras “was presenting the proposal of the institutions as a leave-or-take offer. That was not the case.” He told a news conference ahead of the Group of Seven summit that the latest offer made clear where there was room for negotiations.