Greece's Tsipras digs in against bailout

PENSIONERS SUFFERING

Pensioners shout slogans during a protest outside the Finance Ministry in Athens, Greece, July 1, 2015. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has written to international creditors saying Greece could accept their last bailout offer if some conditions were changed, but Germany expressed scepticism while saying the door was still open for negotiations. [Photo/Agencies]

"This government has done nothing since it came into office," German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in a speech in the lower house of parliament in which he accused Athens of repeatedly reneging on its commitments.

"You can't in all honesty expect us to talk with them in a situation like this," he said.

French Finance Minister Michel Sapin, among Greece's strongest sympathisers in the euro zone, told RTL radio, "The aim is to find an agreement before the referendum if possible ... But it's dreadfully complicated."

Lagarde declined to be drawn out on whether she viewed Tsipras was a reliable negotiating partner after his latest switch, although she did say the Fund wanted to see evidence of reforms before talks about any new potential debt package.

"We have received so many 'latest' offers, which themselves have been validated, invalidated, changed, amended, over the course of the last few days, that it's quite uncertain exactly where the latest proposal stands," she said.

Greece has shut its banks this week, imposed capital controls and limited teller machine withdrawals to prevent the public from emptying the banks.

On the third day of the closure, the costs were biting deeper for ordinary Greeks, with long lines forming at many ATMs and limited amounts of cash being doled out to pensioners. Even with a withdrawal limit of 60 euros a day, there were signs of banknote shortages, with bankers saying 50-euro and 20-euro notes were running low.

The European Central Bank said it would maintain emergency lending that is keeping Greek banks afloat at the same level as late last week, keeping pressure on Greece as its lenders run out of cash.

Kiki Rizopoulou, a 79-year-old pensioner from Lamia in central Greece, had to travel to Athens to collect her pension, spending 20 euros of the 120 euros she was allowed to withdraw.

"I already have to pay back 50 euros that I owe. It's embarrassing," she said.

An opinion poll showed opposition to the bailout in the lead but also that the gap had narrowed significantly as the bank closure and capital controls began to bite.

Posters from the ruling Syriza party calling for a "No" vote started to appear in central Athens. A large white banner declaring 'No to blackmail and austerity!' was unfurled from windows of the finance ministry.

Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said on Twitter that it was the work of "unionists" and it was later removed.

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