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Greek Finance Minister Yannis Varoufakis told reporters in Rome that on Wednesday and Thursday he was going to meet the governor of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, and the German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble.

By late afternoon, the ECB had not confirmed the meeting, but shortly after 6 pm one of the speakers said that "tomorrow Mr. Varoufakis will be in ECB premises." According to sources, a meeting between Varoufakis and Schäuble could be scheduled today, but this has not yet been confirmed.

Varoufakis’ visit to Frankfurt will coincide with the meeting of the bank’s executive board, which will discuss the possibility for extending the deadline, within which Greek banks will be able to get funding from the Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA).

Earlier today, Reuters reported that since 21 January, when the ECB decided to open this window, up until now, three of the four systemic Greek banks have received funding from the fund amounting to a total of €2 billion. This 15-day period expires tomorrow.

The meeting is part of the efforts of the Greek government to ensure the liquidity of Greek banks and thus enable them to operate normally, as they are the main buyers of Greek government bonds. Until now, the ECB has been prone to underwrite the liquidity of Greek banks, accepting as collateral the Greek sovereign bonds in their possession, but only on condition that Greece is bound by an international support programme.

Varoufakis met his Italian counterpart Pierre Carlo Padoan today. In subsequent statements, the Greek finance minister described the conversation as "outstandingly useful". Then he reiterated that "our goal continues to be the reduction of public debt."

Varoufakis said that while talking with Mario Draghi and Wolfgang Schaeuble he would present them with a "road map of the steps we need take from today until June that will lead us to a new agreement."

Meanwhile, at a press conference in connection with the visit of Singapore’s prime minister in Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel mentioned Greece as well: "We await the proposals and then we will start the talks." She added that the government in Athens is still deliberating its plans and considering its position on debt. She added this was fair enough, given the short period since the government’s formation.