Greece says its needs bailout loans in November

Greece is meeting with the troika — the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund — to receive 31 billion euros, or about 41 billion dollars in the next round of bailout loans.

Asked when Greece may run out of cash without further bailouts, Mitarakis said Greece can cope with the situation in November but cannot do so beyond that.

He said it is important for Greece to complete the discussions with the troika as soon as possible. He also said Greece wants to have an agreement before the EU summit so that 31 billion euros can be disbursed within the next few weeks.

Mitarakis referred to his country's request to delay for 2 years the deadline for it to reach its budget deficit reduction targets. He said the Greek economy is likely to post negative growth in 2013 for the 6th consecutive year. He added Greece needs to get out of the recession as soon as possible, but expressed concern that further austerity would cause the economy to sharply lose its balance.

Greece's unemployment rate topped 25 percent in July, with more than half the country's young people said to be out of work.

Mitarakis said this is a very difficult situation and that Greece is at risk of losing its young generation. He indicated that the government will privatize state-run firms and actively seek foreign investment to revive the economy and create jobs.