Greece's creditor powers have delayed talks over reducing the country's debt mountain for fear of emboldening anti-austerity forces in the southern Mediterranean, the country's finance minister has claimed.

Euclid Tsakalotos said EU lenders would not discuss the question of Greece's debt burden, which stands at 200pc of GDP, until after the Spanish elections are held in the new year.

Spain is due to hold its first post-crisis elections on December 20. The current conservative government of prime minister Mariano Rajoy has been fighting off anti-austerity forces in the opposition Socialist party and the grassroots Podemos movement, in a bid to become the first bail-out government to ever be re-elected in the eurozone.

bbabo.Net