Greece 'Close to Deal' on Debt

Greece is close to a deal with international creditors that would allow much-needed funds to flow to Athens, although many questions remain, a senior German official said on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters before a meeting of the Group of 20 leading countries this weekend in Mexico, the official, who requested anonymity, said: "We are close to an agreement on Greece and close to an accord within the troika."

The troika of lenders -- the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund -- is putting finishing touches to a report that will determine whether Greece has completed enough reforms to get its next slice of bailout cash.

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has said the coffers in Athens will run dry on November 16 unless his country receives the 31.2 billion euros ($40.4 billion) in rescue funding.

Following a meeting of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers, its president, Jean-Claude Juncker, said there would be a meeting on November 12 to "further discuss" the crisis in Greece.

Ministers also "called on the Greek authorities to solve remaining issues so as to swiftly finalise the negotiations with the troika institutions."

However, the German official said there was still some work to be done before the deal could be wrapped up.

"There are still some final open questions on Greece within the troika but also within the Eurogroup ... that have to be discussed further," he said.