Tsipras Signals Greece May Accept Bailout Terms

Athens: The Greek government has signaled to its creditors that it is willing to accept many of the terms of a bailout package that it had earlier rejected, if they are part of a broader deal to address the country's funding needs for the next two years, officials said on Wednesday.

The development raised the prospect of progress in resolving a financial crisis that has sent shudders through global markets and deeply strained European unity.

In a letter sent on Tuesday to the creditors - the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and other eurozone countries - Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Greece was "prepared to accept" a deal set out publicly over the weekend by the creditors, with small modifications to some of the key points of contention on issues like pension cuts and tax increases. Mr. Tsipras linked Greece's acceptance of the terms to a new package of bailout aid that would need to be negotiated.

There was no immediate response from any of the creditors. But finance ministers from the countries using the euro were scheduled to confer later on Wednesday to continue discussions on Greece. They had turned aside a last-minute plea for help Tuesday night from Greece but had signaled that there were grounds for optimism about reaching a deal in the coming days, perhaps before a referendum scheduled for Sunday on whether to accept the terms of the bailout.

The dramatic turn came hours after Greece missed a debt payment to the I.M.F., leaving Greece effectively in default and raising the pressure on the country to find a solution to its rapidly escalating financial squeeze. With its banking system shut down and access to further aid cut off, Greece faced the prospect of further debt defaults and the possibility of being forced to abandon the euro as its currency.

The letter from Mr. Tsipras was first reported by The Financial Times. The report sent stock prices in Europe higher.

News of the letter emerged ahead of a meeting of the European Central Bank's Governing Council to consider whether to cut off entirely the line of credit that has kept the Greek banking system from collapsing.