Eurogroup agrees 8.5 billion euro bailout distribution to Greece

Greece's global lenders prepared on Thursday to unblock as much as 8.5 billion euros (7.44 billion pounds) in loans that Athens desperately needs next month to pay its bills, and to give some idea of what debt relief they may offer over the long-term.

"We have been robbed blind", said Stavros Vassiliou, 65, "I worked 41 years in construction ..."

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the eurozone's top official, said Greece has been cleared to get 8.5 billion euros ($9.5 billion), which will allow it to meet a big repayment hump this July.

Greek Economics Minister Dimitri Papadimitriou accused German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble of being "dishonest" by blocking debt relief for Greece despite his acknowledgement that Athens has implemented significant reforms.

Slovak Finance Minister Peter Kazimir said: "I really hope the Euclid will fly back home with a briefcase stuffed with money".

Eurozone ministers said they were optimistic about reaching a bailout deal with Greece to unlock sorely needed rescue cash Thursday but warned Athens would have to wait for a deal on future debt relief.

But the International Monetary Fund is less optimistic, arguing there must be further relief for Athens before it can label its debt sustainable and justify loaning Greece any more cash.

Athens says it wants a debt relief agreement "that gives clarity to the markets, but of even greater importance, renewed hope to the people of Greece", a government official told Reuters before the meeting. "The figure will only come at the end of the programme". Financial contribution from the Fund will only happen once it gets more details on possible debt relief measures so that it can complete its own debt-sustainability analysis of the Greek program.

"It's not about giving Greece money, but rather about not giving Greece money", he said, adding that the next steps were about "an ambitious growth program ... based not on new debt, but on targeted initiatives to promote private investment in all of Greece".

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is set to get the cash he needs to meet some urgent payments next month to his creditors.

The Europeans expect Greece's economy to grow strongly and its government to bring in large surpluses in revenue in the coming years, allowing it to pay down its debts.

However, Christine Lagarde, the IMF's managing director, said enough progress had been made at Thursday's meeting for her to go to the executive board to get the stand-by facility.

Ms Lagarde added: "In the case of Greece, AIP would allow the International Monetary Fund to be supportive of the progress made on policies, while release of resources under the International Monetary Fund arrangement would be conditional upon Greece's European creditors providing commitments for debt relief sufficient to secure debt sustainability".

More than 2,000 elderly protesters have marched through central Athens to protest further pension cuts imposed by the government as part of efforts to ensure Greece gets its next installment of rescue loans from European creditors.

"We can't live on 300 euros (£260)!" they chanted, with some waving sticks.