Greeks rally to support gov't before Eurogroup meeting

Thousands of people gathered on Sunday in Athens and other major cities in Greece to show their support to the Greek government ahead of Monday's Eurogroup meeting on the Greek debt crisis.

"We say no to austerity, we raise our voices, we choose dignity," protesters chanted in front of the Greek parliament prior to the Greek delegation's negotiations with its European partners, which is scheduled to be held in Brussels.

The newly elected Left-led government rejects the bailout, austerity and the idea of formally requesting an extension of the bailout program for a few months until Athens reaches a final deal on the resolution of the Greek debt problem, according to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' pre-election pledges.

International lenders on the other hand added pressure on the new government by requiring it stick to the austerity and reform path in exchange of further aid.

The impasse of the past few weeks has revived fears for a potential Greek default and its exit from the euro zone.

After an inconclusive euro group meeting on Wednesday and an EU summit on Thursday, the two sides will make one more effort to find a solution on Monday.

"Wake up! EU's dream has become a nightmare," read banners waved by demonstrators on Sunday in Athens.

Thousands of people of all ages joined again the rally that was organized through social media by activists not affiliated with political parties.

Similar gatherings were staged in several cities across Greece, as well as other countries from Europe to Australia, according to the organizers.

Six out of 10 Greeks approved the new government's stance, according to the latest opinion poll released this weekend.

Seven out of 10 respondents supported Greece's stay in the euro zone, according to the survey, which was carried out by Kappa Research polling firm last week for Sunday's "Vima" (Tribune) newspaper.

The 1,105 Greeks participating in the poll were divided over their expectations on the outcome of the negotiations and Greek economy's future.

About 48 percent expected a successful result from the ongoing talks against 51 percent who were pessimistic.

Moreover, 47 percent of respondents expected that the ailing economy would improve a year from now, while 21 percent said nothing will change and 10.5 percent believed it will be worse.

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