ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's prime minister has renewed an appeal to international lenders to reach an agreement on easing the country's debt burden.

In an article written for France's Le Monde and Germany's Die Welt, Alexis Tsipras said dealing with Greece's debt, which stands at about 320 billion euros ($360 billion) or around 180 percent of the country's annual gross domestic product, was key to future growth.

Finance ministers from the eurozone are meeting Thursday to decide whether to unfreeze the latest installment of Greece's rescue loans and provide clarity over any debt relief measures they will provide.

Tsipras appealed to them to "respect the rules that they themselves wrote."

European creditors promised some form of debt relief if the Greek government pushed through reforms linked to the country's latest bailout program.