Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis told the German financial daily Handelsblatt that Greece will need a new international agreement in order to meet nearly 11.5 billion euros in obligations between June and August. Varoufakis is quoted as saying, “Just as we do not want to hear the word ‘troika’ anymore, our creditors do not want to hear the word ‘haircut’, and I understand this,” he says.

He adds that there are smarter solutions than debt write-offs and pointed to “swaps” as such an example. He said the fact that wages and prices are still dropping in Greece (deflation) indicate the depth of the recession, pointing to a return to growth as the only way for the country to start dealing with its huge debt. He believes that the only way to reverse the slide is through investments.

Varoufakis warned that success is not guaranteed in the government’s fight against tax evasion, nonetheless he said that it was hopeful that the politicians who make up the new government do not belong to “the old system.”

He pointed out also that Greece’s relations with foreign creditors are far more civilized than portrayed in the mass media. Finally, he said the same is true vis-a-vis his relations with German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble, whom he described as a “fascinating person”.