Greece warns IMF, Germany to stop 'playing with fire'
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras answers a question on corruption, during the Prime Minister's Time at the parliament in Athens, Greece, 10 February 2017 (EPA Photo)


Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Saturday warned the International Monetary Fund and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble to "stop playing with fire" in the handling of his country's debt crisis.

Opening a meeting of his Syriza party, Tsipras said he was confident that a solution would be found, a day after talks between Greece and its creditors ended in Brussels with no breakthrough.

"We are ready to discuss anything within the framework of the (bailout) agreement and within reason, but not things beyond the framework of the agreement and beyond reason," Tsipras told a meeting of his Syriza party. "We will not discuss demands which are not backed up by logic and by numbers," he said.Greece and its international lenders made clear progress on Friday towards bridging differences over its fiscal path in coming years, moving closer to a deal that would secure new loan disbursements and save the country from default.Representatives of its lenders are expected to return to Athens this week to report on whether Greece has complied with a second batch of reforms agreed under the current bailout, its third.