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Greek debt talks near conclusion, EU says

THE HAGUE — The EU’s top economic official said Thursday that Greece and its private creditors are nearing a deal to ease the country’s debt burden and that this could clear the way for more aid.

“Talks are close to conclusion,” Commissioner Olli Rehn told lawmakers during a visit to the Dutch parliament.

Rehn said banks and other holders of Greek bonds must make a “substantial” contribution and urged Greece also to speed up efforts to fix its finances.

Once those two conditions are met, the European Union can determine how much additional aid Greece may need, Rehn said. European leaders agreed last year to a second bailout for the country but have yet to disburse any of the money.

“We expect Greece to take prior action. Then we finalize our debt sustainability analysis, and then we decide to see if more aid is required,” Rehn added.

Earlier in the day, Deutsche Bank CEO Josef Ackermann, who is also chairman of the International Institute of Finance committee that leads negotiations with the Greek government on behalf of private-sector creditors, also said a deal was near.

“We are very close and hopefully will reach an agreement within the next weeks or days,” Ackermann said on the sidelines of the bank’s annual results conference.