Greece's money "starting to run out" says Eurogroup's Dijsselbloem

Cash-strapped Greece is expected to sign a new deal with its European creditors, according to the president of the Eurozone's group of finance ministers.

"The money is starting to run out," said Jeroen Dijsselbloem in an interview with broadcaster RTL, cited by Reuters, adding that a Greek exit was "not an option".

Earlier on Tuesday, it emerged that the European Central Bank was looking into measures to rein in emergency liquidity assistance to Greek banks if Athens fails to convince Dijsselbloem's Eurogroup that the country can implement reforms and unlock further financial aid.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will present plans to reform Greece's economy to a meeting of Dijsselbloem's Eurogroup in Riga on Friday, 24 April.

This followed a decree from Athens on Monday forcing local governments to transfer their cash to the country's central bank in order to give it six weeks' breathing space and help meet debt payments to the International Monetary Fund.

Dijsselbloem said a 'Grexit' would lead to "very dangerous instability" and argued that it was in the interests of both Greece and the euro zone as a whole to avoid that.

The leftist-led Greek government has lost popularity, according to a poll published by Athens daily Kathimerini.

The approval rating for the creditor negotiations by Tsipras and finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has plummeted to 45.5% from 72% in March, a study revealed.

Tsipras is currently in talks with Russian gas giant Gazprom about allowing it to build a pipeline across the country, with much-needed advance funds on offer.