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The members of the supervisory Troika did not return to Athens today, despite the expectations created by the government sources. According to the Greek media, negotiations on reaching an agreement on the third rescue programme may be late in resuming although time is running out.
 
Asked by Ethnos newspaper correspondent in Washington Michalis Ignatiou, spokesman for the International Monetary Fund Gerry Rice replied that "so far there is no concrete date for the return of our delegation to Athens (...) The formalities as well as the way in which we will participate are not yet specified."

The main reason, according to them, is that until yesterday the Greek government sent no official request to the International Monetary Fund to take part in the negotiations, although it has already approved the sending of its representatives to Athens. "The Greek government sent a joint letter to all institutions, not making a good impression in this way," said a source of Ethnos who is familiar with the developments.

At the same time, European Commission sources indicate to capital.gr that no European representatives will arrive in Athens before reaching an agreement with the International Monetary Fund and coordinating the actions with it.

Earlier today, Greek bankers were informed that the meeting with representatives of the creditors scheduled for today would be postponed to Monday when "all senior representatives of the four institutions" would be in Athens. GRReporter recalls that the previous team that consisted of representatives of the International Monetary Funds, the European Commission and the European Central Bank now involves a representative of the European Stability Mechanism too.

Delia Velkulesku is expected to be the IMF representative in the supervisory quartet

According to the correspondent of Ethnos, the second reason for the delay is the decision of the International Monetary Fund to meet with the ministers and all Greek representatives who are responsible for the programme implementation. He refers to a source, according to whom the International Monetary Fund insists on Greece committing to vote and implement additional budgetary measures, but the Fund has not officially confirmed this information.
 
The baseline scenario for the course of negotiations remains their quick completion by 12 August. A Plan B for a short and "smooth" extension with a new bridge loan from the European Financial Stability Facility to cover the loan payments is on the negotiating table as well. First on that list is the loan to the European Central Bank to the amount of 3.2 billion euro that is due on 20 August.