The German government stands by demands made by international creditors in return for Greece's bail-out, Angela Merkel's spokesman said on Wednesday
Telegraph staff and agencies
5:58PM BST 15 Aug 2012
A meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Antonis Samaras, Greece's prime minister next Friday will put "everything onto the table," said Steffan Siebert.
However, he added that the German government stood by the Greek memorandum of understanding as written. "The German position, which is a European position, is based on the memorandum of understanding, which is the foundation," he said.
On Tuesday, the Financial Times reported that Mr Samaras would formally ask for a two-year extension to implement austerity measures.
Evangelos Venizelos, Greece's former finance minister and leader of the socialist PASOK party had previously called for a three year extension that would provide a "realistic framework" for the country's reform efforts. "We are heading into deep water," he said in July.
Mr Siebert said that the German Chancellor would "certainly listen to what Mr Samaras has to say about the situation in Greece and the implementation of the program."
German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle suggested on Tuesday that the "lost time" from Greece's double round of elections should be taken into account, but told Der Spiegel: "it is clear that there can be no substantial changes to the reform agreements."
Mr Seibert also said Mrs Merkel would wait for the troika's report on Greece, now due in mid-September.
If the report finds Athens has fallen short of its targets, it could stop receiving loans and face bankruptcy and an exit from the 17-nation eurozone