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Tsipras tells US Treasury Secretary deal must ‘respect’ Greeks

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on Sunday his country wanted the eurozone to provide a bailout, but one that "respects the Greek people".

Alexis Tsipras SyrizaGreek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on Sunday his country wanted the eurozone to provide a bailout, but one that “respects the Greek people”.

In a phone conversation, Tsipras said Greece had demonstrated it wanted an agreement, a government source said of the conversation, also reported by the state news agency ANA.

The premier was said to have told Lew a sustainable deal was one which “respects the Greek people and all of their sacrifices in the last five years”.

Neither the source nor ANA said what Lew’s response was. But US treasury spokeswoman Whitney Smith said Lew “underscored that rebuilding trust requires demonstrating that a programme will be implemented and that there will be measures to make the debt sustainable.”

“Secretary Lew reinforced that it is in the best interests of Greece, Europe, and the global economy for all parties to reach a constructive outcome that would put Greece on a path toward necessary reforms as well as debt sustainability and growth within the eurozone,” Smith said.

The US treasury secretary has regularly added his voice to the debate in the eurozone about the Greek crisis, urging creditors to examine a restructuring of Greece’s mountain of debt.

3 Comments

  • Author’s gravatar

    Sadly the sacrifices of the Greek people did not yet include collecting the taxes that are due the government. In fact only 10.5% of taxes due are collected now. No answer from Greece why that was not fixed in the last 5 years. This is the reason trust is lacking from the creditors. Can Greece put together a proposal that ensures more tax collection?

  • Author’s gravatar

    greek people sef…dem yeye too much…respect…beggar wan respect…

  • Author’s gravatar

    Why doesn’t America “butt out” of Europe’s business? What moral standing does the biggest debtor nation in the world have to lecture Europeans on how to deal with deadbeat nations? And exactly how has Greece demonstrated it wants an agreement? By calling a referendum on the last offer and urging the Greek voters to vote NO? When the Greek government gets its 55 billion Euros, will it call another referendum on implementing its promises? Questions and questions…