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Greece pays first debt installment early

Greece appears to have made some progress in bailout talks with its European creditors by repaying the latest instalment of its debt a day early.

Some analysts think today's repayment is just delaying the inevitable - a major default on its debt and all the chaos that would bring to the Eurozone.

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Greece demanding recognition over finance negotiations

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis ahead of Monday's meeting in Brussels Credit: Reuters

Greece is demanding Eurozone finance ministers to acknowledge progress in difficult negotiations on a cash-for-reform deal, which the country hopes will unlock short-term borrowing to ease its acute financing crunch.

However, sources familiar with European Central Bank thinking said there was still too little advance on key issues and too much uncertainty for the bank to allow the Greek government to sell more short-term Treasury bills.

Greece is due to make a crucial 750 million euro debt repayment to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday and is running out of money to keep paying wages and pensions.

But government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis told reporters Athens was not linking the IMF payment to the outcome of Monday's Eurogroup meeting in Brussels or considering any "plan B".

"What it wants from today's Eurogroup is to have on record that considerable progress has been made in the talks," he said.

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