Greek minister seeks early polls if 'honest' deal not reached

Greek Labour Minister Panos Skourletis voiced his support for holding early elections if an "honest" agreement is not reached with its European creditors and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order to guarantee progress.

Talks on further financial reforms and bailout payments are expected to conclude by Friday, when Athens is also scheduled to make a payment to the IMF of 300 million euros ($331.31 million), funds that some ministers claimed last week to be available to the state, Efe news agency reported.

Skourletis told Greek Skai television station following a five-way meeting in Berlin that if the agreement was not a sincere commitment to making progress, they must consult the people before signing any settlement.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted the meeting which was attended by French President Francois Hollande, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi.

Skourletis argued that the Greek government has made enough concessions, and that it was up to the other parties to assume their responsibilities.

The latest draft proposal has been characterised by some media outlets as a "take it or leave it" deal, and while that has not been confirmed, it fits with statements made on Tuesday by Deputy Prime Minister Yannis Dragasakis, who said "the government does not accept ultimatums or succumb to blackmail", according to the draft of his speech.

Greece has several payments to make in May, including roughly 1.6 billion euros to the IMF, and 2.8 billion euros in current expenditure for salaries, pensions and social security.