Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis stated that Greece will not pay the 1.6-billion-euro installment to IMF, which is due today, Tuesday June 30, while speaking to journalists outside the Finance Ministry.
However, the Greek government still hopes to reach a last-minute agreement with the country’s creditors regarding the bailout program, he added.
According to Reuters when asked if Greece would make the payment he simply replied “No,” while when asked about the possibility of an 11th hour aid deal with international creditors — with the current program expiring on Tuesday — Varoufakis said: “We hope so.”
“In order to say ‘yes’ to the euro we need a viable solution. The problem with the creditor’s proposal was that it was not sustainable,” noted the Greek Finance Minister.
“What is important, at the moment, is to ensure calmly and harmoniously the Greek people’s right to decide on Sunday through the referendum. It is a right that the Eurogroup tried to abolish, by closing the banks. We are trying to ensure this right as required by the Greek state,” he added. “That’s our goal: to allow the Greek people to express their opinion on the creditor’s proposal and by next Monday, we will attempt to build a viable solution for the Greek social economy.”
On his part, the head of the negotiating team Euclid Tsakalotos said that the referendum is “a piece of the negotiation process,” not a way to replace it.
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