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The meeting of Greece’s Prime Minister with Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande in Riga has yielded no results despite the expectations that Athens made public before Alexis Tsipras left for Riga.

The official statements after the meeting that lasted two and a half hours make it clear that no discussion can replace the negotiations with the representatives of creditors at the advisory level, and that a new agreement cannot be reached before completing the evaluation of the implementation of the current bailout.

The fact that a few days ago the leadership of the International Monetary Fund stated that it would not accept the report on the implementation of the second programme if it were prepared in haste and would not describe the situation in detail indicates the position of Greece’s European partners.

This obviously limits the possibility of reaching the political agreement sought by the Greek government that, according to Athens, could alleviate the budgetary consolidation measures that will accompany it.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, however, was adamant that the solution of the Greek problem would require more work at the technical level. Commenting on last night's meeting with Alexis Tsipras and Francois Hollande, she stated, "It was a friendly and constructive discussion. It is clear, however, that it is necessary to achieve even greater cooperation with the institutions," adding, "many things have to be done before coming to agreement."

For his part, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reiterated that he was optimistic about reaching an agreement, stating, "Last night’s conversations with Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Francois Hollande were very constructive and took place in a very good and friendly atmosphere. I am optimistic that very soon we will be able to reach a stable, long-term and sustainable agreement, without the mistakes of the past. In this way Greece will return with cohesiveness to economic growth. I am optimistic."

Later today he will meet with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who states in today's interview with WirtschaftsWoche magazine, "One cannot throw away a country from the monetary union just like that. But Greeks will have to realize that one’s solidarity should be reflected in the correctness of the other."

Shortly before the summit in Riga, Juncker tried to clearw the atmosphere, drawing Alexis Tsipras towards himself and trying to convince him to wear a tie. The gesture has various interpretations in the Greek press. Some media see in it the optimism about a deal, whereas others recall that the Greek Prime Minister had stated that he would start to wear a tie when the public debt issue were settled. "Are Juncker and Tsipras trying to show something with this joke?!" they wonder.

However, the consultations between the representatives of Athens and the technical teams of creditors in Brussels are continuing. According to correspondent for the Greek newspaper Kathimerini Eleni Varvitsioti, they will continue next week until the two sides reconcile their positions.

At the same time, sources of the European Commission who are aware of the negotiations expressed pessimism with the words, "We are far from reaching an agreement." The main reason is that the Greek government keeps presenting very positive forecasts for the national economy with which the creditors disagree. Another European official pointed out that "the only point of agreement is the return to the reforms implemented over the past years."

Germany’s Minister of Finance Wolfgang Schaeuble is pessimistic too and yesterday reiterated that he could not exclude the possibility of Grexit. "What I know about the progress of talks with the three institutions is that they do not share the optimism of the messages from Athens," he said.

In all cases, Brussels is adamant that it will grant no funds without signing a comprehensive agreement on all issues. Meanwhile, the question of a possible extension of the current bailout is not yet formally considered, although this may happen in order to secure more time for further negotiations on the new agreement.