Greek officials warn country cannot make June payments

Greece will not meet a payment falling due to the International Monetary Fund on 5 June unless it receives further aid, the government's parliamentary spokesperson said on Wednesday.

"Now is the moment of truth, on June 5"

"Now is the moment that negotiations are coming to a head. Now is the moment of truth, on June 5," Syriza's parliamentary speaker Nikos Filis told Greek ANT1 television.

"If there is no deal by then that will address the current funding problem, they won't get any money," he said.

Pension and public sector salary payments will be prioritised over those to the IMF, Filis added.

Read more: Greek bond yields jump as negotiations reach critical juncture

Greece is facing several payments to the IMF next month amounting to approximately €1.6bn, and is in talks with the European Union and the Fund in order to reach an agreement before it runs out of cash.

The EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Pierre Moscovici said that negotiations between the European creditors and Athens are advancing, but pointed out that they “need to accelerate.”

He also warned that pension and labour market issues remain unresolved.

Moscovici added that there was no plan B for Greece, so the country must stay in the Eurozone.

The 25 members of the European Central Bank's (ECB) governing council will discuss on Wednesday whether to keep providing Greek banks with emergency liquidity to keep them afloat.

As of 11:17 the yield on 10-year Greek bonds was lower by six basis points to 11.11%.

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