Eurozone finance ministers and International Monetary Fund (IMF) failed to strike a deal to unblock 31.5 billion euros (USD40 billion) bailout funds needed to keep Greece from bankruptcy.

The Greek finance minister and the IMF's Christine Lagarde attended the talks in Brussels

The Eurogroup ministers said after an emergency meeting in Brussels on Wednesday that no deal had been reached and they would meet again next Monday for further technical work. The main argument at the meeting was whether the IMF and the EU should extend deadline of another 2 years for Greek to reduce the public debt compared to GDP. Jean-Claude Juncker, who presides the Eurogroup of finance ministers, said that Greece's debt burden is currently nearly 180% of GDP and it must be reduced to 120% by 2022. If that target cannot be achieved, the IMF might have to withdraw from efforts to stabilize the Greek economy. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said EU partners and the IMF have a duty to do what they have taken on. He also warned that not only the future of Greece but the stability of the entire eurozone depend on the success of the conclusion of this effort in the next few days.