Berlin

Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will plead with European counterparts at a summit in Brussels Thursday for cash to keep his country afloat and in the euro as officials warned that the situation was becoming "dangerous".

Addressing the German Bundestag on Thursday, Chancellor Angela Merkel downplayed hopes for a Greek deal at today's European Summit or at her meeting with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Monday.

Eurozone leaders will tell Greece on Thursday that time and patience are running out for its leftist-led government to implement agreed reforms to avert a looming cash crunch that could force it out of the single currency.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is looking forward to talking to - and possibly arguing with - Greece's Alexis Tsipras when he pays his first visit to Berlin as prime minister next Monday, she told the German parliament shortly before Thursday's EU summit.

According to Bloomberg, citing German officials statements, on Monday the German Chancellor in her scheduled meeting with the Greek Prime Minister, in order to calm the increasingly combative rhetoric between the nations and regain control over efforts to keep Greece in the euro, will tell Alexis Tsipras that rules are meant to be followed and will not deliver an ultimatum.

At the same time as Greek PM Alexis Tsipras travels to Berlin on Monday for a closely watched meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a trio of the government's top ministers will be headed in the other direction, to China for official contacts in Beijing.

On Sunday the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Gotzias will meet in Berlin with his German counterpart Frank?Walter Steinmeier.

It is worth mentioning that Mr. Kotzias had previously visited Berlin on February 10.

His meeting will be held a day prior to the Tsipras - Merkel meeting.

Alternate Defense Minister Costas Isichos told Russian media that he plans to ask authorities there to allow the Greek state access to archives pertaining to the destruction of infrastructure by Nazi forces during World War II.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Wednesday that time was running out for Greece, which is trying to renegotiate the terms of its bailout.

At a news conference in Berlin about the German government's spending plans, Schaeuble said Greece had repeatedly said it didn't want a third bailout programme.

Greek PM to travel to Berlin, and then to Moscow

ATHENS -- Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will visit Berlin next Monday, and will travel to Moscow in April, a month earlier than planned.

A spokesman for the German government stated that Tsipras was invited by Chancellor Angela Merkel.