Denials fly in war of nerves over Greek debt talks

An elderly couple makes their way along a main commercial street in the early morning before the shops were open in central Athens, Greece July 28, 2015. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

ATHENS/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Conflicting statements and denials flew between Athens and Brussels on Tuesday in a war of nerves highlighting the depth of mutual mistrust over a new round of negotiations on an 86 billion euro bailout that started this week.

Any hope of a fresh start in fraught relations between Greece's leftist government, purged of its most radical members, and the institutions representing its creditors, appeared to be dashed by the flurry of assertions and rebuttals.