NEWS

Greece to draft new reform plan within days - EU leaders

Greece to draft new reform plan within days - EU leaders

The development came after marathon talks between Greek PM Alexis Tsipras, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders in Brussels.

EU leaders say Greece has agreed to come up with a new reform plan within days to secure the additional bailout funds required to prevent bankruptcy.

Mr Tsipras said he was now "more optimistic" after the meeting.

Separately, the EU leaders agreed to keep sanctions on Russia in place until the end of this year at the earliest.

The sanctions, imposed because of Russia's alleged military intervention in Ukraine, are now linked to "complete implementation" of a ceasefire deal.

The middle-of-the-night talks between Mr Tsipras, Ms Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and leaders of the EU institutions lasted for more than three hours.

They were organised on the sidelines of an EU summit in the Belgian capital.

Source: bbc.com