Eurozone rules out Greece debt talks until after referendum

Investors can confidently await the referendum, because 21,000 people demonstrated in favor of a “yes” vote on Tuesday night in Athens, according to Greek police statistics.

Athens: Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said today that his country would still hold a referendum on the terms of its bailout, urging people to vote “No” in order to win a better deal.

“The sirens of destruction are blackmailing you to say yes to everything without any prospect of exiting the crisis”, he declared.

The battle for Greek votes was in full swing Thursday ahead of a crucial weekend referendum that could decide whether the country falls out of the euro.

Mr Tsipras’ argument was also dismissed by the head of the eurozone finance ministers’ group, Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem. “It has only reversed measures”. Among their demands was the immediate setting of the retirement age at 67, which the previous government had already agreed to introduce gradually.

Only a few hours earlier, the markets had been rallying on Greece’s apparent peace offering. But even as the Greeks reach their breaking point, the leaders of Europe are lining up behind German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Euro commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said on Wednesday that a new bailout deal for Greece is possible before new major payments come due, with 20 July and an European Central Bank repayment seen as an absolute deadline for Athens.

“The Greek bank situation will return to normal soon after a deal is reached”, Varoufakis said.

It is now without external financial assistance for the first time in five years, while at home the banks will be closed all week, although around a thousand branches opened on Wednesday to allow the elderly to receive pension payments.

The Prorata survey was carried out between Sunday and Tuesday, following the government’s decision to impose strict capital controls and close the banks after a breakdown in talks with its worldwide creditors.

It adds that Greece would permanently lose access to financing from the European Central Bank, which would create a serious foreign currency shortage for the private and public sectors. Not after the 78-year-old got up early Wednesday to stand in line, twice, outside the National Bank of Greece for the privilege of going inside to withdraw 120 euros ($134) less than a quarter of his monthly pension.

By Wednesday afternoon, Greece was completely isolated and sinking deeper into a financial and economic hole.

Greece’s government appeared to be caving into demands from its creditors on Wednesday, offering concessions in a desperate attempt to get more aid hours after its bailout program expired. The banks were shut and businesses were reporting falling sales as customers hoarded cash. He said the International Monetary Fund was promoting its traditional stance but Europe had opted for solutions other than debt cuts to put countries back on track.

“How do you persuade [European] government[s] to vote for a third bailout when the Greek government has actively campaigned in a referendum against the terms of a second bailout?” said James Nixon, chief European economist at Oxford Economics. “A popular verdict is much stronger than the will of a government”. “That depends on Greece… but it also depends on us”.

The Eurogroup is a meeting of the finance ministers of the euro-using nations of the European Union.