Greece asks eurozone for loan extension

GREECE has asked the eurozone for a loan extension after weeks of wrangling over its international bailout.

The country is seeking a six-month assistance package, rather than a renewal of the existing deal which comes with tough austerity conditions.

Details of the request have not been made public, but any deal is likely to differ from the current bailout conditions set by the eurozone.

Greece had faced running out of money by the end of the month without a deal.

The request follows days of negotiations between eurozone finance ministers and Greek government’s anti-austerity Syriza party.

It will now be reviewed by the eurozone leaders, as well as representatives of the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission.

The president of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, confirmed through his twitter account that the request had been received.

On Monday night, Greece rejected a plan to extend its €240bn (£178bn) bailout, describing it as “absurd”.