ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece's recession may be deeper than 7 percent this year, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Tuesday, estimating that the country would not return to growth before 2014.

"We will start containing the recession this year and we will be able to move onto recovery at the beginning of 2014," Samaras told a parliamentary group meeting.

Greece is in a fifth straight year of recession and blames the deeper than expected contraction for missing its tax revenue and budget deficit goals.

(Reporting by Harry Papachristou)