Greece will not be able to make a payment to the International Monetary Fund due on June 5 unless foreign lenders provide more aid, a senior ruling party lawmaker said on Wednesday, the latest warning from Athens that it is on the verge of default, Reuters reported yesterday. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's leftist government says it hopes to reach a cash-for-reforms deal in days, although European Union and IMF lenders are more pessimistic and say talks are moving too slowly for that. Payments to the IMF totaling about 1.5 billion euros (US$1.7 billion) fall due next month, starting with a 300 million euro payment on June 5. Talks between Greece and its lenders have foundered on Athens' demand to roll back labor and pension reforms as well as the lower fiscal targets set under its bailout program. Among concessions Athens is mulling is a tax on banking transactions to help raise revenue, although discussion of the levy is at an early stage.
