Following his meeting with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Thursday at the Maximos mansion, Deputy Prime Minister and PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos stated that the country’s planned exit from the European lenders’ bailout may be delayed, citing “technical reasons.”

More specifically, Mr. Venizelos told reporters that “the European program will end on December 31. The aim is for the last tranche to be disbursed by December 31. If for technical reasons certain procedures cannot be completed there could be an extension, but not a new bailout.”

The extension beyond December 31 may be days or weeks long, Mr. Venizelos told reporters after the meeting. In regard to the issue of the fiscal gap that is undermining negotiations, he stated that “there is no fiscal gap, the fiscal gap is a theoretical discussion on the efficiency of budget measures.”

Mr. Venizelos also noted that the IMF program ends in 2016, and that Greece may still use it if there is such a need. This statement can be interpreted as a change of attitude of the government on the issue of the exit from IMF bailout program.

The main focus of the meeting that took place at Maximos mansion, the official seat of the Prime Minister in Greece, were the negotiations with Greece’s international creditors and the next step for Greece after the two sides failed to reach an agreement. Greek sources state that the Paris’ meeting was fruitless as the IMF insisted on the level of the fiscal gap.

Negotiations are continuing with the troika of creditors from the European Commission (EC), European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF). Teleconference calls are expected over the coming days.