Greece says ready to resume talks, bridge gap with creditors

Greece remains open to finding a deal with lenders and is prepared to bridge a budget gap as demanded by lenders but not by cutting pensions or raising taxes, the deputy prime minister said on Sunday after a breakdown in negotiations. In a statement, Deputy Prime Minister Yannis Dragasakis said the Greek delegation remains ready to resume talks but blamed European lenders for insisting on pension cuts and value-added-tax hikes to close the projected budget gap.The comments came after the European Commission said on Sunday the talks between Greece and its euro zone and IMF creditors did not succeed, leaving the final decision on whether the country is going to default to euro zone finance ministers. A Greek government official blamed the lenders for the impasse, saying the lenders' representatives at the talks said they were not authorized to negotiate further on the matter.

Greece says ready to resume talks, bridge gap with creditors source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/greece-still-ready-negotiate-solution-180051732.html