BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union officials described talks between EU chief executive Jean-Claude Juncker and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras which ended earlier on Thursday without agreement as a "last attempt" to reach a debt deal.

Asked about concerns for the process raised by the departure of IMF and Greek negotiators from Brussels, an EU diplomat said:

"If the process was working properly the president would not have had to have a meeting with Tsipras today. President Juncker made a last attempt to make a deal possible."

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(Reporting by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Adrian Croft)