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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 hopes for a EU deal on debt 'within days'

Greece's Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis laid out the hope that a deal could be secured "within days" though his partners in the eurozone appeared more sceptical. Finance ministers have said that Greece appears to have made some progress in bailout talks with its European creditors but the chances of an immediate deal look slim.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis (centre) in Brussels. Credit: PA

Greece, which is facing a liquidity crunch that could see it go bankrupt within weeks and possibly leave the shared euro currency, has to secure a deal with creditors to get a delayed bailout loan - worth 7.2 billion euro (£5.2bn) - that will help it pay upcoming debts. As they arrived for a meeting in Brussels, finance ministers from the 19-country eurozone said progress has been made since their last such meeting in April ended in acrimony.

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