Greek Prime Minister Won’t Seek to Extend Bailout

ATHENS — As pressure grows on Greece to reach a deal with its international creditors and avert fears that it will default on its huge debt, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Sunday that his government would not seek an extension of a stringent bailout program and would carry out its campaign pledges to roll back austerity, but gradually.

In laying out his government’s program in a speech before Parliament, Mr. Tsipras sought to tread a line between satisfying coalition lawmakers and supporters that his government will honor the anti-austerity promises that brought it to power last month while reassuring creditors that his radical leftist administration is prepared to move toward a compromise that keeps the economy afloat without further burdening European taxpayers.

Greece’s creditors — the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund — want the new government to seek an extension beyond Feb. 28 of the European portion of the country’s bailout of 240 billion euros, or $270 billion. The government, however, has said that despite dwindling cash reserves, it is not interested in the latest portion of the bailout, a loan of €7 billion, because of what it sees as onerous conditions. Instead, it has said it wants a program between now and the end of May to bridge the gap and permission to raise short-term funding by issuing treasury bills.

Greece is expected to return to growth this year after a six-year recession that has pushed unemployment above 25 percent and slashed household incomes by a third. Last week, however, the European Commission lowered its projected growth forecast for Greece to 2.5 percent, from a more optimistic estimate of 2.9 percent in November, as such robust growth is seen as dependent on the enforcement of economic overhauls pledged by the previous Greek administration, which the new government has contested.

An earlier version of this article misstated the body that lowered its growth forecast for Greece. It was the European Commission, not the European Union.

The New York Times