Brinkmanship is apparently giving way to semantics on Wednesday as Athens and its eurozone creditors scramble to find the right language to seal a crucial deal between the two sides.

Athens wants the phrase “extension of the loan agreement” included in any text it signs – preferably this week – in order to avoid a cash crunch once the current EC-ECB-IMF bailout agreement runs out on Feb. 28.

Conversely, the leading bloc of eurozone members want the following phrase included: “extension of the current program”. The latter position has been repeatedly favored by Berlin and Eurogroup head Dijsselbloem over the past week.

Sources said PM Alexis Tsipras’ close associates are trying to find a half-way point between the two sides, with the EU Commission also involved in the search of an all-elusive compromise.

EU Commissioner for the eurozone and Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis hinted at a “key” to the solution on Wednesday, saying the difference between a “loan extension” and the “bailout plan extension” – along with its accompanying commitments – depends on the exact content and terminology of the draft agreement.

Nevertheless, he underlined that “the best way forward is to extend the existing program with its conditionality.”