Greek society can't absorb more austerity, and the country's creditors must compromise to break the impasse over the release of funds for its cash-strapped economy, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said.
Tsipras sought to placate critics within his Syriza party after returning from a European Union summit in Riga, Latvia, where talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande failed to yield a breakthrough on measures to unlock bailout funding.
Some members of his party advocate defaulting on loans rather than backing down from the anti-austerity policies that swept it to power in January even if that leads the country out of the euro.
"We've shown willingness to compromise to get to a mutually beneficial solution," Tsipras said in a speech at the start of a two-day meeting of Syriza's central committee on Saturday.