AFP, Elmau Castle :
Flaring tensions between Greece and its creditors were set to dominate a G7 summit in Germany on Sunday, amid fears the debt-wracked country could crash out of the euro and rock the world economy.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a champion of tough eurozone reform and austerity, will host the other leaders of the Group of Seven industrialised democracies-the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Canada and Japan.
Also at the two-day power meet will be Greece’s international creditors- the EU, ECB and IMF-who have wrangled for weeks to hammer out a reform plan that would unlock a final 7.2 billion euros ($8 billion) in bailout funds Athens desperately needs.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and EU President Donald Tusk were among the guests due to speak Sunday, with International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde joining them on Monday.
In a sign of growing tensions ahead of a key deadline at the end of June, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has dismissed creditors’ demands as “absurd”.
Juncker on Saturday snubbed a phone call from the radical leftist leader, with an EU official reportedly saying there was “nothing to discuss”, although Tsipras, Merkel and French President Francois Hollande later spoke by phone.
The three leaders “took stock of the situation to help move forward the negotiations between Greece and the three (creditor) institutions,” a French source said.
Athens last week withheld a 300-million-euro loan repayment to the IMF, opting instead to group four scheduled tranches into a single payment at the end of the month.
Tsipras on Friday argued that a “cynical” policy of economic asphyxiation and harsh austerity being applied to Greece would ultimately impact other European states in economic difficulty.
US President Barack Obama touched down early Sunday morning in southern Germany with other leaders to join Merkel later Sunday.
The guests were treated to a Bavarian-style welcome with children in traditional dress handing them flowers.
Obama will kick off events on Sunday with Merkel by enjoying local beer, pretzels and oompah music at a nearby village.
His administration has urged Europe to resolve the festering Greece issue. Washington has also voiced strong concern about what is set to be the other big G7 topic, the latest flare-up in fighting in Ukraine, which last week claimed scores of lives and threatened to derail a fragile ceasefire.
Flaring tensions between Greece and its creditors were set to dominate a G7 summit in Germany on Sunday, amid fears the debt-wracked country could crash out of the euro and rock the world economy.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a champion of tough eurozone reform and austerity, will host the other leaders of the Group of Seven industrialised democracies-the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Canada and Japan.
Also at the two-day power meet will be Greece’s international creditors- the EU, ECB and IMF-who have wrangled for weeks to hammer out a reform plan that would unlock a final 7.2 billion euros ($8 billion) in bailout funds Athens desperately needs.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and EU President Donald Tusk were among the guests due to speak Sunday, with International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde joining them on Monday.
In a sign of growing tensions ahead of a key deadline at the end of June, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has dismissed creditors’ demands as “absurd”.
Juncker on Saturday snubbed a phone call from the radical leftist leader, with an EU official reportedly saying there was “nothing to discuss”, although Tsipras, Merkel and French President Francois Hollande later spoke by phone.
The three leaders “took stock of the situation to help move forward the negotiations between Greece and the three (creditor) institutions,” a French source said.
Athens last week withheld a 300-million-euro loan repayment to the IMF, opting instead to group four scheduled tranches into a single payment at the end of the month.
Tsipras on Friday argued that a “cynical” policy of economic asphyxiation and harsh austerity being applied to Greece would ultimately impact other European states in economic difficulty.
US President Barack Obama touched down early Sunday morning in southern Germany with other leaders to join Merkel later Sunday.
The guests were treated to a Bavarian-style welcome with children in traditional dress handing them flowers.
Obama will kick off events on Sunday with Merkel by enjoying local beer, pretzels and oompah music at a nearby village.
His administration has urged Europe to resolve the festering Greece issue. Washington has also voiced strong concern about what is set to be the other big G7 topic, the latest flare-up in fighting in Ukraine, which last week claimed scores of lives and threatened to derail a fragile ceasefire.
