A flurry of last-minute maneuvering with Greece
After years of crisis, and months of sometimes bitter negotiations, a resolution may be in sight for Greece's economic emergency.
The so-called Troika of European institutions that are overseeing Greece's massive debt -- The European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) -- are said to have come to terms on a tentative agreement to offer the government in Athens on Wednesday.
However, Greek Prime Minster Alexis Tsipras is still holding out hope Greece can set the key terms of any agreement. He told reporterson Tuesday, "We have submitted a realistic plan for Greece to exit the crisis. A realistic plan, whose acceptance by the institutions, our lenders and our partners in Europe will mark the end of the scenario of divisions in Europe."
According to Reuters, though, "eurozone officials branded the Greek text insufficient and said it was not formally on the table."
Since coming to power in January, Greece's leftist government has been confronting its creditors, saying their requested economic reforms and austerity measures would inflict too much financial pain everyday Greeks, who are already suffering from years of cutbacks in the wake of the European debt crisis.
Greece is also facing a Friday deadline to pay $334 million (300 million euros) to the IMF, the first of four payments totaling $1.67 billion (€1.5 billion) that Athens is supposed to hand over to the IMF this month.
Underlying all these talks and bargaining has been fear of Greece defaulting on its loans and exiting the eurozone, the so-called "Grexit" -- a worst-case scenario that would call into question the future of the European Union as an economic bloc.
"The political consequences of a Greek bankruptcy in the eurozone would of course be gigantic," German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel told the BBC.
But despite the behind-the-scenes, last-minute talks and signs of a possible agreement, analysts say none of this is a done deal.
Burt White, chief investment officer for LPL Financial, said there's no realistic way Greece can fulfill its financial obligations without first getting "substantial concessions" from its creditors.
"It is possible that there will be a solution requiring Greece to enact a severe austerity program in exchange for further funding from the international community," he said in a commentary released Tuesday. "However, it seems unlikely that this is a viable long-term solution. Ultimately, we believe Greece will need to restructure its debt, which qualifies as a default."
And Claus Vistesen, chief eurozone economist with Pantheon Macroeconomics, on Tuesday said the likelihood is still strong that Greece could default with the IMF on Friday if the bailout funds aren't released.
"If a deal cannot be reached," he noted, "Greece will still be in the eurozone on Monday, but most likely under a regime of strict capital controls."