In an interview to the influential German magazine Der Spiegel, Greek FinMin Yanis Varoufakis insists on the need for a debt “haircut” and vilifies the EC-ECB-IMF troika, whose behaviour he equates with CIA waterboarding.

The flamboyant Yanis qualified his metaphor by saying that the “CIA had good people as well, who against their will used the waterboarding torture method. There was a moral dilemma for them,” noting that the troika “let’s us take one breath and then pushes us under the water again”.

Regarding the ballooning Greek debt, the jet-setting Varoufakis said it is a common secret that Greece’s debt — without a new agreement — is not sustainable. However, he said he completely understands that the government wants to avoid the word “haircut”.

Nevertheless, the noted game theorists told Der Spiegel that “essentially, a ‘haircut’ is the best solution for lenders, and certainly less costly than an extension.”