Greek finance minister upbeat on bailout deal within a month

ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Greece's finance minister says he hopes to conclude austerity negotiations with bailout creditors in a month.

Euclid Tsakalotos said Tuesday that senior negotiators representing Greece's European creditors and the International Monetary Fund are due in Athens April 2 to follow up on inconclusive talks earlier this month.

Greece signed a third bailout deal that is potentially worth up to 86 billion euros ($96 billion) last summer. In return, Greece has to cut costs further and push through wide-ranging economic reforms.

A deal on what Greece has to do next will trigger discussions on how to ease Greece's debt burden.

Tsakalotos said a preliminary deal can be reached by April 13, and a solution by April 22, when he next meets with his peers from the 19-country eurozone.