“We’ve been to the brink of the abyss several times in the past,” said George Pagoulatos, a University of Athens economist and former adviser to the Greek government. “But this is worse than any time before.”
Nonetheless, Pagoulatos said he is tentatively optimistic that there will be an agreement. “Reason suggests that there will have to be a deal Monday,” he said, “because the alternative is a disaster.”
Pagoulatos said Europe will want to do everything possible to prevent Greece from becoming a failed state that is vulnerable to political exploitation from Moscow.