Greece has won assurances that it need not propose new austerity measures in return for bailout aid, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in Brussels on Friday, hours after holding crisis talks with European partners about reforms required from Athens. Tsipras met late Thursday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and top EU officials on the sidelines of a summit in Brussels, in efforts to resolve an impasse about the country's rescue package. "We can now decide for ourselves what reforms to implement," Tsipras told journalists. He said Athens would aim for a primary surplus of between 1 and 1.5 per cent of gross domestic product this year, rather than the previously mandated 3.5 per cent, according to dpa. But Tsipras expressed optimism after Thursday's talks, which also included EU President Donald Tusk, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi, and Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the head of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance minsters. Greece will present a "full list of specific reforms in the next days," the three European officials said in a joint statement. -- SPA 20:16 LOCAL TIME 17:16 GMT تغريد
