Thousands protested in Athens on Sunday as Greek MPs approved an austerity package

The Greek people have been pushed to the limit by austerity measures demanded by the EU and IMF, public order minister Christos Papoutsis says.

He said Greeks had made "superhuman" efforts, and "can't take any more".

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos says all remaining issues with the austerity package will be solved in time for a conference call with eurozone chiefs later.

Greece has been told to make deep cuts in return for a huge bailout package.

Athens is negotiating the terms of a 130bn euro ($170bn, £109bn) deal with the EU and IMF.

The Greek parliament approved an austerity package on the weekend, despite violent protests sweeping the country.

But eurozone ministers demanded a further 325m euros of cuts and insisted that all major Greek parties promise to enact the cuts regardless of who wins a general election scheduled for April.

Mr Venizelos said there were "very few remaining issues" with the austerity package.

He said they would be "fully clarified" by 18:00 (16:00 GMT), when the country's leaders are due to discuss the issue with eurozone chiefs.

But he also warned that some eurozone countries were "playing with fire", hinting that some member states no longer wanted Greece in the bloc.

Greek conservative leader Antonis Samaras, whose New Democracy party is a member of the governing coalition and is expected to win April's vote, had hinted that he would try to renegotiate the bailout deal after the election.

Earlier reports said Mr Samaras had refused to give a written assurance that the cuts would be enforced.

But unnamed officials were quoted on Wednesday as saying Mr Samaras had now signed a letter committing him to the austerity package, and it would be delivered by the end of the day.

After a cabinet meeting late on Tuesday, Mr Papoutsis, a member of the other major coalition party Pasok, said Greece had "made all the efforts that it needed to do".

"The people cannot take any more. The government is making superhuman efforts, and we have reached the limits of the social and economic system," he said.

"Greece has owned up to its own responsibilities, and the sacrifices of the Greek people are huge. I believe it is time for everyone to own up to their responsibilities."

Eurozone ministers were due to hold talks on the bailout on Wednesday, but eurogroup head Jean-Claude Juncker announced that the face-to-face talks would be replaced by a conference call.

He said Greece had not shown that it was committed to the austerity plan, and technical work was still needed "in a number of areas".

As well as 17 ministers from nations that use the euro, the president of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi and the Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Olli Rehn, had also been due to attend the meeting.

The latest bailout was agreed in principle by EU leaders in October, conditional on Greece adopting further measures to cut its deficit and restructure its economy.

On Sunday, Greek MPs approved extra cutbacks, but coalition parties had to expel more than 40 deputies for failing to back the bill.

Thousands protested in Athens, where there were widespread clashes and buildings were set on fire. Violent protests were reported in cities across the country.

On Tuesday, an official report showed that the decline of the Greek economy accelerated in the final three months of 2011.

The estimate showed that, compared with a year earlier, Greek GDP contracted by 7% in the fourth quarter of 2011.

That is an acceleration from the 5% contraction in the third quarter.

The report also shows that the Greek economy shrank 6% last year, an increase on earlier estimates and the fifth year of recession.

Source: BBC

Evangelos Venizelos warned there were some eurozone members who no longer wanted Greece

Some eurozone countries no longer want Greece in the bloc, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos has said.

He accused the states of "playing with fire", as Greece scrambled to finalise an austerity plan demanded by the EU and IMF in return for a huge bailout.

Mr Venizelos promised to clarify the plan before a conference call with eurozone bosses due at 16:00 GMT.

Greece needs to convince lenders that it will make enough savings, and that its politicians will enact the changes.

Athens is hoping to get a 130bn-euro (£110bn; $170bn) bailout from the EU and IMF.

The deal also includes a provision to write off a further 100bn euros of debt owed to banks.

Parliament approved a package of austerity measures on Sunday, but eurozone ministers indicated that more detail needed to be given on the cuts.

The ministers also insisted that the major Greek political parties committed to implementing the cuts, regardless of who wins a general election scheduled for April.

Leaders of the two main parties have now signed letters committing them to enacting the changes.

The leader of the conservative New Democracy party, Antonis Samaras, wrote that if his party won in April it would "remain committed to the programme's objectives, targets and key policies".

But he said that "policy modifications might be required to guarantee the full programme's implementation".

An official told the BBC that 325m euros of extra savings had been made with cuts from defence, health and local government budgets.

Mr Venizelos said there were "very few remaining issues" with the austerity package and promised to have them "fully clarified" before the conference call.

But he also warned that some eurozone countries were "playing with fire", saying: "There are many in the eurozone who don't want us any more."

Without the bailout, Greece will be unable to pay its debts and will be forced into a default.

Its next payment is due on 20 March, and the complex technicalities of finalising the bailout take several weeks even after the politicians have agreed the measures.

But the austerity plan has been hugely unpopular in Greece.

Anger boiled over during Sunday's vote in parliament, when large groups of protesters clashed with riot police and dozens of buildings were set on fire in Athens.

And eurozone countries appear to be running out of patience with Greece.

On Wednesday German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told local radio he wanted to help Greece, but "we are not going to pour money into a bottomless pit", in comments translated by the AFP news agency.

And unnamed eurozone officials were quoted suggesting that Greece's latest assurances still may not be enough, because people no longer trusted the country's politicians.

Greece has failed to deliver on many of the promises it made to secure an earlier bailout deal, EU officials say.