Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has warned of an imminent cash crunch for his debt-ridden country.

Speaking after a Monday meeting with his peers in the 19-country eurozone, Varoufakis added that cash-strapped Athens was being strangled by a liquidity problem and urgently needs the final tranche of rescue funds from its 240-billion-euro European Union-International Monetary Fund bailout.

"The liquidity issue is a terribly urgent issue. It's common knowledge, let's not beat around the bush," he said.

"From the perspective [of timing], we are talking about the next couple of weeks," the minister added.

Athens has been under pressure by its so-called troika of international lenders, namely the European Commission (EC), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to make reforms in its labor market as well as in pensions and taxation policies in exchange for a new bailout loan.

During their meeting in Brussels on Monday, the Eurozone finance ministers commended Athen’s progress in its marathon bailout talks with its EU-IMF creditors.

"We welcomed the progress that has been achieved so far... At the same time, we acknowledged that more time and effort are needed to bridge the gaps on the remaining open issues," the ministers said in a statement.

Greece had been hoping that the reforms proposed by the finance minister would be sufficient for its international lenders to unblock USD-7.9-billion in remaining bailout money that the Mediterranean country needs to avoid defaulting on its foreign debt.

Athens received two bailout packages in 2010 and 2012 worth a total of €240 billion (USD 272 billion) from the troika following its 2009 economic crisis. However, it has been unable to borrow on the international markets over the past few years due to high borrowing rates.

"There is going to be a communiqué on the progress we are making and this will be a very good paving stone towards a final conclusion," said Varoufakis following the meeting with his eurozone peers.

He said he expected a final deal "in the next few days."

This is while, Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem has stressed the importance of reaching a full deal on the bailout, which expires in June.

"We are making faster progress," the Dutch chief told reporters.

"Some important issues have been discussed in depth but more time is needed to bridge remaining gaps and reach a final agreement," he said, adding a "comprehensive deal is needed before any disbursements can take place."

The government of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, whose leftist Syriza party swept to victory in the January 25 elections, has tried to renegotiate the terms of the country’s bailout it received in return for imposing harsh austerity measures.

During his electoral campaign, Tsipras vowed to reconsider the austerity measures, which have caused mounting dissatisfaction in the country.

SF/GHN/HMV