IMF walks out on talks with Greece, EU tells Athens 'stop gambling'

The International Monetary Fund has walked out on talks with Greece, dashing hopes of a compromise in ongoing debt negotiations. The EU told Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to "stop gambling."

The IMF said it was bringing its team back to Washington because there had been no sign of a compromise.

"There are major differences between us in most key areas," IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said in Washington. "There has been no progress in narrowing these differences recently and thus we are well away from an agreement."

However, the IMF said that while "the ball is very much in Greece's court right now," the fund "never leaves the table and remains engaged."

The creditors want Greece to commit to economic reforms before they pay another 7.2 billion euros ($8.2 billion). Athens needs the money to meet debt obligations worth 1.6 billion euros at the end of the month and later this summer.

While creditors have been keen to say that time is running out, Greece itself has told them to "stop pointing fingers."

Warnings from Brussels bigwigs................

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