(MENAFN- AFP) The International Monetary Fund said Thursday Greece and its official creditors have made no recent progress towards resolving their differences.
Hours after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras held talks with Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and France's President Francois Hollande on a possible new bail-out, the IMF said major differences had not been bridged.
"There are still major differences between us in most key areas," IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters.
"There has been no progress in narrowing these differences recently. Thus we are well away from an agreement."
Greece has asked the Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank to release another 7.2 billion euros ($8.2 billion) in bailout funding to allow the country to continue paying its debts and its domestic government obligations.
But the three official lenders have balked on Athens' insistence on less harsh loan conditions, including easing fiscal targets and pushing back promised pension reforms.
Rice said discussions are focused on pensions, taxation and financing, with the issue of the country's generous pensions a key challenge.
"Pensions and wages account for 80 percent of Greece total primary spending," he said.
"It's not possible for Greece to achieve its medium term fiscal targets without reforms, and especially of pensions," he argued.
"It's been acknowledged by all sides that the Greek pension system is unsustainable."
But he insisted the IMF does not want to deprive the most vulnerable Greeks of income.
"Basic pensions that are targeted to the most vulnerable groups are being protected," Rice said.
"We are looking to protect the lowest income pensioners even as we advocate a reform of the system."
He also stressed the need for improvements in the tax system, especially in collecting value-added taxes.
"Greece has one of the largest gaps in the EU on VAT revenues that are colleted versus the revenues that should be collected, given the rates," Rice said.
"This is because we think because the VAT structure is highly complex and allows for significant leakage in the system."
Rice also said debt relief was part of the discussions, to help make Greece's ability to service its massive debts sustainable.
But he stressed that there is already a framework for this in Greece's existing rescue program.
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