Greece and lenders in final push to seal new bailout accord

Athens

GREECE and international creditors sought to put final touches to a multi-billion euro bailout accord on Monday to keep the country financially afloat and meet an important debt repayment to the European Central Bank (ECB) within days.

Germany set out "strict" conditions for further aid and said it would be sensible to link the size of the first tranche to Greece's progress in carrying out reforms, a reflection of worry around the eurozone that Athens might not do as promised.

Greek ministers and representatives of European institutions and the International Monetary Fund resumed talks on Monday morning after a marathon Sunday session that ended in the pre-dawn hours.

An accord for up to 86 billion euros (S$131 billion) in fresh loans to the debt-stricken nation must be in place by Aug 20, when the repayment to the ECB is due. Greek bond yields fell as hopes grew of a …