Greece and its international creditors were seeking to put final touches to a multi-billion euro bailout accord late yesterday to keep the country financially afloat and meet an important debt repayment to the European Central Bank within days.

Germany set out “strict” conditions for further aid and said it would be sensible to link the size of the first tranche to Greece’s progress in carrying out reforms, a reflection of worry around the eurozone that Athens might not do as promised.

Greece was hoping to wrap up the deal for €86 billion in fresh loans by today so it can get parliamentary and other approvals for aid to flow by August 20, when a debt repayment to the ECB is due.

Greece hoping to wrap up deal for €86 billion

After lengthy negotiations on Sunday and yesterday, Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said talks were going “quite well” and was optimistic that an agreement will be reached soon.

“I don’t know if it will be tomorrow morning, but soon means soon,” Tsakalotos told reporters late yesterday. The European Commission also said a deal could be reached within August, “preferably before August 20”.

An agreement would mark the end of a painful chapter on bailout talks for Greece, which fought against austerity terms demanded by creditors for much of the year before accepting a deal under the threat of being bounced out of the eurozone.

Officials said yesterday the two sides had still to agree on setting up a sovereign wealth fund in Greece designed to raise €50 billion from privatisations, three-quarters of which would be used to recapitalise banks and to decrease debt.