Greece and its creditors on Tuesday closed a troubled chapter on fiscal reforms with a preliminary deal on pension and tax cuts, offering hope for a debt relief agreement later this month. "This is a balanced and viable agreement," government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos told reporters, hours after all-night negotiations with the senior representatives of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

"The Greek government's central goal is to reach an overall agreement on May 22 that also specifies midterm debt (relief) measures," he added. Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said a "preliminary technical agreement" had been achieved ahead of a May 22 meeting of eurozone finance ministers, which is required to rubber-stamp the deal.

In Brussels, a spokesman for European economy commissioner Pierre Moscovici said the provisional agreement "is a very positive development following months of complex negotiations." "It is now for all partners to reach an understanding on the question of Greece's debt in the coming weeks," Moscovici's spokesman said. A compromise is required to unblock a tranche of loans Greece needs to repay seven billion euros ($7.6 billion) in maturing loans in July.

In a joint statement, the creditors said Tuesday's agreement "will be the basis" for an overall review of Greece's economic performance and "will now be complemented by further discussions in the coming weeks on a credible strategy for ensuring that Greece's debt is sustainable." To clinch the deal, the government agreed earlier this month to adopt another 3.6 billion euros ($3.8 billion) in spending cuts in 2019 and 2020. Athens conceded fresh pension and tax break cuts in return for permission to spend an equivalent sum on poverty relief measures.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2017