Government spokesman Gavriil Sakellaridis stated on Thursday that the word “extension” in relation to Greece’s bailout program, that was included in the drafted communiqué after the conclusion of yesterday’s Eurogroup meeting, led to the cancellation of the joint announcement.

Speaking to private ANT1 TV on Thursday, Sakellaridis confirmed that Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis spoke on the phone with Alexis Tsipras before the release of the statement and they decided to reject the draft.

With regard to the disagreement between the Greek side and the EU Finance Ministers over the content of the communiqué, the spokesman underlined that “the Government cannot accept certain expressions that show an obsession with former policies”.

However, Sakellaridis added that the government does not want a rupture with the country’s partners and hopes that a mutually beneficial agreement will be reached in the next Eurogroup meeting on Monday.