With the Greek debt crisis reaching a climax, Athens has submitted a request to creditors to extend its current bailout programme “for a short period of time”, according to a letter published on Politico website.

The request would avert a technical default on the 1.5 billion euro IMF payment due by the end of the day on Tuesday (June 30). Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has already confirmed the installment will not be paid on time.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has also submitted a two-year aid proposal calling for parallel debt restructuring.

The government released a statement, confirming the plan:
“The Greek government proposed today a two-year deal with the ESM (European Stability Mechanism) to fully cover its financial needs and with parallel debt restructuring.”

Margaritis Schinas, chief spokesperson at the European Commission said it was a matter for the Eurogroup.

“This would not be for us,” he said. “That would be for the Eurogroup to consider, as the Eurog