GREEK Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis indicated yesterday that Athens could make concessions on key demands by bailout lenders, but not before an initial deal to unlock delayed rescue funds has been reached.

The Syriza government played its latest bluff before going into last night’s meeting with bailout inspectors in
Brussels.

Greece’s creditors — the IMF, European Central Bank and the European Commission — have been resolute in demanding that the country’s working class bear the costs of the bailout.

They insist that the government must reduce state funding for pensions, chop staff numbers in the public sector, dismantle employment protection measures and raise VAT.

However, the Athens government argues that these measures cannot be implemented with the same speed and savagery as in previous years.

“After June, we are willing to look at many issues,” Mr Varoufakis said yesterday, but he would “not move an inch” until an initial accord was reached to unlock bailout funds to avoid Greece defaulting on pressing debt obligations.