Greece, euro zone agree four-month loan extension, avert crunch

(Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers agreed in principle on Friday to extend Greece's financial rescue by four months, averting a potential cash crunch in March that could have forced the country out of the currency area.

The deal, to be ratified once Greece's creditors are satisfied with a list of reforms it will submit next week, ends weeks of uncertainty since the election of a leftist-led government in Athens which pledged to reverse austerity.

"Tonight was a first step in this process of rebuilding trust," Jeroen Dijsselbloem, chairman of the 19-nation Eurogroup, told a news conference. "We have established common ground again to reach agreement on this statement."