Greece's Tsakalotos reaches out to Lagarde as bailout talks drag

OTTAWA: Greece's finance minister arranged a last-minute follow-up meeting with International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde before returning to Athens from a gathering of global policy makers in Washington, as the nation seeks to unlock more bailout funds from creditors.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that Greece's creditors were considering additional austerity measures that would kick in if the nation missed budget targets, in an effort to bridge differences between Europe and the IMF, which is reviewing whether to join Europe in the latest programme.