Warnings, left and right, picked up on Friday ahead of yet another in a long line of crucial weeks for the leftist SYRIZA government holding Greece’s reins and responsibility for replenishing the almost depleted state coffers.

In Washington, US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew warned that Athens is running out of time to reach a deal for extended bailout funding, as US officials have recently begun airing their concerns over the “Greek issue”.

“We urge the authorities to quickly and fully commit to technical negotiations with their international partners,” he told members of the IMF’s policy committee and before a meeting with Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, who has been doing the “Inside the Loop” circuit since Thursday.

“Not reaching agreement would create immediate hardship for Greece and uncertainties for Europe and the global economy more broadly,” he added.

Across town, visiting French Finance Minister Michael Sapin used particularly blunt language in saying that Greece’s leftist government isn’t garnering much sympathy from its EZ partners, amid now swirling speculation over various shades of default.

“We are not sympathetic to Greece,” he pointedly said, adding: “We are demanding because Greece must comply with the European (rules) that apply to all countries.”

Also in Washington on the sidelines of the IMF spring meeting, European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis stressed:

“Unfortunately, so far, progress in the technical discussions has been limited … It is really about time to speed up negotiations. It first and foremost requires a Greek government commitment to stick to the programme’s conditions and to implement the necessary structural reforms,” he said.

Dombrovskis said the absence of a complete list of reforms ahead of an April 24 Eurogroup meeting in Riga means no decision will be taken there, only a review of progress to date – or lack thereof.