21:19

Another sign of optimism:

Alexis Papachelas, probably Greece’s best informed political analyst, has told SKAI News that he thinks “an agreement is very close, very near.”

“There is a detectable shift in stance. Under pressure lenders have retreated on several issues,” Syriza’s prominent MEP, Dimitris Papadimoulis told the Guardian.

“We are beginning to see that differences are bridgeable, that an agreement will be reached.”

Echoing the German chancellor Angela Merkel, insiders in the leftist led Syriza government said it was vital that Greece cut a deal with the bodies keeping it afloat before markets opened on Monday.

The optimism – the first real sign of a thaw in relations between Athens and its creditors at the EU, ECB and IMF – followed extraordinary scenes of brinkmanship in Brussels and outbursts of fury in Athens

Earlier in the day, Papadimoulis, a Syriza moderate, had denounced the tactics of hardliners in the EU and IMF who, he claimed, were deliberately thwarting an agreement with prime minister Alexis Tsipras.