VIENNA, July 11 (Reuters) - The chances for a third bailout programme for Greece are improving, Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann told newspaper Oesterreich in an interview to be published on Sunday.
"We are certainly closer to a deal than we were earlier. I would even say the chances for an agreement for a Greece bailout programme have never been so good as they are now," he said.
"However, we are still far from a final yes for the bailout because some countries have lost trust in Greece."
Sceptical European finance ministers were gathering on Saturday to decide whether to negotiate a third bailout for Greece after Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras won lawmakers' backing for painful austerity measures. ID:nL8N0ZR04F
Faymann said Greece would have to improve its offer because it now needed more than the originally named 53 billion euros ($59 billion).
He said again: "We must avoid a Grexit - that would set Europe back. So we must seek a constructive solution."
Faymann said such a solution would not mean a haircut for creditors but a reduction of the interest burden by giving Greece longer to pay back its debt. ($1 = 0.8960 euros)