“I feel sorry for the Greeks for the irresponsible behavior of their government,” was the eyebrow-raising statement by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble on Monday, hours before a crucial Eurogroup meeting convened in Brussels.

The powerful German FinMin also maintained that he was skeptical about any agreement on the Greece issue at Monday’s Eurogroup.

Speaking to DLF radio station, Schauble said technical-level talks over the weekend didn’t leave much hope for optimism. He reiterated his belief that Greece needs to stay on the path of austerity, while adding, however, that Germany does not wish to see Athens exit the euro zone. Nevertheless, he stressed that the new Greek government should satisfy a bare “minimum of its obligations”.

Schauble said the issue was not a compromise but to “make Greece competitive again”. He said that one of the main areas of difficulty is that a number of countries complain that their standard of living is lower than Greece. Furthermore, he described the European social programs proposed by the Greek side as a “waste of time”.

At the same time, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said “no” to a new debt haircut for the country. He said the new Greek government needs to respect its European commitments, whereas a write down would send the wrong message. Finally, he stressed that leaving the Eurozone would entail a “huge danger” for Greece and experessed a chance that an agreement would be reached at the Eurogroup on Monday.