Greek government eyes compromise with lenders, rules out snap polls

[June 08, 2015]  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's government considers its reforms proposal to lenders as the basis for a deal but is willing to compromise to meet the needs of euro zone and IMF creditors, the government spokesman said on Monday.

"Definitely our proposal is the starting point," government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis told a news conference. "The mission of the Greek delegation is to explore the possibility of a solution that satisfies both sides."

He also said resorting to elections was not part of the government's plans and that Athens was not seeking an extension to its bailout program either when it expires at the end of June.

Athens is looking for a deal with lenders, he said, adding that the government had previously warned it was looking for an agreement so that it could avoid a move like what it did last week, when it delayed an IMF payment to be bundled with others and paid at the end of the month.

(Reporting by Karolina Tagaris and George Georgiopoulos, Writing by Deepa Babington; editing by David Stamp)

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