Greece debt crisis: Talks between Athens and Troika continue as Grexit time bomb ticks

Greece, creditors and regulators will hold another series of talks on 25 June, with only five days left before Athens has to pay €1.6bn (£1.14bn, $1.79bn) to the International Monetary Fund.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has held meetings with heads of the IMF, the European Central Bank and European Commission in the early hours on 25 June and the 19 EU finance ministers will discuss the debt crisis in the long-planned EU summit as well.

The deadline on 30 June for a payment to the IMF is looming and the ruling Syriza party in Greece has threatened not to pay the instalment unless a more favourable cash-for-reforms deal has been made.

If that comes to pass, the creditors will provide a €7.2bn bailout fund in exchange for austerity measures made by Greece. If a deal is not made, Greece will be forced to leave the euro.

After voicing optimism in the beginning of a week filled with talks, which started on 22 June, Greece leaders and Troika heads have now expressed concerns about the outcome of the 11th-hour talks, causing markets to fall again after a strong pick-up.

Tsipras tweeted on 24 June:

A Syriza spokesman also told Mega Tv: "The lenders' demand to bring annihilating measures back to the table shows that the blackmail against Greece is reaching a climax."

The IMF payment deadline ticks in the background like a time bomb, pressuring Greece and its creditors to come to a deal. But the creditors demand proof that the Greek government is putting effort into cutting public spending, while the Greek population and Syriza leaders pressure Tsipras not to make too many concessions.