Greece must work intensively with creditors - Merkel

RIGA (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday that Greece needed to work intensively with its creditors, with a lot of effort required before an agreement can be reached. Merkel and French President Francois Hollande met Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Thursday evening on the sidelines of a European summit with a number of ex-Soviet states. "It was a very friendly, constructive exchange, but it's also clear that there must be more work with the three institutions. There is a lot to do," Merkel told reporters. "France and Germany have offered Greece and the Greek Prime Minister that whenever there are questions to be discussed, whenever there is help to be given, to do so but the conclusion needs to be found with the three institutions and there needs to be very, very intensive work." (Reporting by Alastair Macdonald; writing by Philip Blenkinsop; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek)