Greece says has begun drawing up agreement with creditors

[ATHENS] Greece and its creditors are starting to draft a technical-level agreement that will include no more wage or pension cuts, a government official said on Wednesday.

"At the Brussels Group today procedures to draw up a staff-level agreement are beginning," the official said.

The statement appeared to suggest significant progress in talks with EU and IMF creditors that form the Brussels Group, though sources close to the lenders have so far not indicated any such progress to merit drawing up an agreement.

The official also cited differences between the EU and IMF as holding up an overall deal.

"There remains a problem with the differing stance among the institutions. If an agreement by the IMF was not needed, the deal would have closed by now," the official said.

REUTERS