Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has taken control of the country's reform talks with its international lenders at a "critical" point in the negotiations, Greek government sources told CNBC.
The sources, who did not want to be named due to the sensitive nature of the discussions, told CNBC that the Greek prime minister had taken command of the negotiating process and was involved in discussions with the Brussels Group of the country's creditors - the International Monetary fund, European Commission and European Central Bank as well as the European Stability Mechanism.
The sources added that a teleconference held Thursday on the reforms were held at the prime minister's office - an incident denied by the government's official spokesman.
The Athens government has been in debt deadlock with its international creditors since it came to power in late January. While the left-wing Syriza party was elected on an anti-austerity ticket, those holding the purse-strings on its multibillion-euro bailout are insisting on strict economic and welfare reforms.
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The sources added that Tsipras' move to lead the talks was an attempt to show his commitment to finding a resolution to the country's impasse with lenders.
'Delicate and critical'
Greece certainly needs a deal over reforms, which could release a vital 7.2 billion euros ($8.18 billion) worth of aid from its second bailout program. The country has millions of euros worth of loan repayments to pay over the next few weeks and months to lenders and money is running out.
The sources noted that Tsipras wanted to be more involved in the talks as they entered a "delicate and critical" phase, adding that the prime minister was focusing on the "political" side of the deal while Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis and Euclid Tsakalatos (currently in charge of Greece's negotiating team) had been looking after the "technical side."
Talks are currently focused on resolving differences between the two sides over labor market and pension reforms.
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Greek newspaper Ekathimerini reported that the Greek negotiating team could travel to Brussels over the weekend ahead of a possible face-to-face meeting on Monday, citing sources that said creditors wanted Greece to present them with a list of proposed reforms preferably by Sunday.
A Greek government spokesperson said she could not confirm whether talks were currently taking place or whether Greece had to present reforms by Sunday.
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However, the other government sources CNBC spoke to believed the talks were likely to continue over the weekend if not Monday, in the hope that a deal could be struck.
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