'Final phase' in Greek bailout deal, debt talks: PM

(ATHENS) - Greece is in the "final phase" of negotiations on a eurozone bailout and a debt swap deal critical to its economic survival, Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said on Friday.

"We are in the final phase of a very critical procedure to form Greece's new economic programme and complete a loan deal that will lighten the load of the public debt and ensure the country's financing for many years to come," Papademos said in a statement.

Greek officials have spent weeks in negotiation with a global bank lobby on a major debt writedown, alongside parallel talks on a new eurozone loan with senior auditors from the EU, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank.

As former deputy chief of the ECB, Papademos is closely involved in the talks.

The goal is to get Greece's overall debt burden down to nearer 120 percent of gross domestic product by 2020, a level required by the International Monetary Fund, from its present 160 percent of GDP.

This would then enable talks to proceed on a fresh 130-billion-euro bailout by the eurozone, EU and IMF partners for Athens, although a row is ongoing over whether the official sector -- namely, the European Central Bank and other EU institutions -- should also take a hit on their holdings of Greek government bonds.

The European Commission on Friday said the deal to restructure some 200 billion euros of privately-held Greek sovereign debt is "within reach."

At the same time, it said the negotiations were proving "very difficult" due to the novelty of securing a 70 percent write-down in the bonds' nominal value.

Reports suggest that the difference between Greece and its private creditors comes to some 15 billion euros which will need to be found elsewhere, with the suggestion being that the official sector, which up to now has refused to write-down its bonds, may have to give ground.