Greece is and will continue to remain in the Eurozone, Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said at a press conference following yesterday’s Eurogroup meeting in Brussels, expressing optimism that an agreement will be reached in the end. " have no doubt negotiations will continue in the next few days and that in the end there will be a deal which will be therapeutic for Greece," he said. [See also: Photo Gallery]

The minister said the aim of these talks was to find common ground that would create a time table of four to six months to achieve a long-term loan agreement for growth between Greece, the Eurozone and the IMF. Varoufakis stated that the Greek side responded positively to the text of a communiqué shown to him earlier in the day by European Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, which he was happy to sign. However, the document, which would have been used as the basis of discussion at the Eurogroup was replaced in the course at the meeting by an entirely different document that was not acceptable to Greece.

Referring to the issue while addressing a meeting of his Democratic Party, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi noted that Greece is just asking for time, and what is needed is a solution that allows Europe to use flexibility without disregarding the rules.