by Maria Spiliopoulou
ATHENS, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Greece has made progress in negotiations in Athens with envoys of its international creditors in the past two weeks and a staff level agreement to conclude the pending second review of the third Greek bailout by the March 20 Euro Group meeting was feasible, Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said on Thursday.
Moreover, Athens believes that a comprehensive final deal on the debt-ridden country's post-bailout course after 2019 was also close, the Greek official said, according to an e-mailed statement.
The two sides have found points of convergence on several issues, while differences remain regarding further reforms in the labor market and the post-bailout fiscal policy mixture, Tzanakopoulos told a press briefing in Athens ahead of the Euro Working Group teleconference scheduled for Thursday evening.
"All sides aim to not only seal the technical agreement, but reach a comprehensive deal which will include the primary surplus targets for the period after 2019 as well as the mid-term measures to make the Greek debt sustainable," the Greek official said.
For first time after eight years, Greece is very close to such a solution that will create the conditions for the final exit from the bailout programs, Tzanakopoulos said.
Athens seeks the first deal to unlock the next loan tranche and the comprehensive deal that will include further debt relief in order to ensure the inclusion of Greek state bonds in the European Central Bank's quantitative easing program, the spokesman explained.
Greece's inclusion in the ECB's program will boost the liquidity of the Greek banking sector and the overall confidence in the Greek economy, paving the way for the country's return to international financing markets, Tzanakopoulos said.
