VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Greece's euro zone membership is a given and does form part of negotiations with the country's lenders, the finance ministry said on Sunday.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said on Wednesday he believed euro zone finance ministers would approve an Athens government proposal on extending the country's loan agreement later this week.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said on Saturday he believed Athens would reach an agreement with its EU lenders about the way out of its international bailout, "even at the last minute".

Greece's new leftist government and its international creditors failed to agree on a way forward on the country's unpopular bailout and will try again on Monday, with time running out for a financing deal.

Greece said on Saturday it had no short-term cash problem and that it will hand its European Union partners a comprehensive plan next week for managing the transition to a new debt deal.

Greek borrowing costs leapt and bank shares were hit hard on Thursday after the European Central Bank abruptly pulled the plug on its funding for the country's financial sector in what Athens labelled an act of coercion.

Greece has started negotiations with the International Monetary Fund over a plan to swap its sovereign debt for growth-linked bonds, Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said in an interview published on Wednesday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel ruled out a debt writedown for Greece on Saturday, and a European Central Bank policymaker threatened to cut off funding to Greek banks if Athens does not agree to renew its bailout package.