“I would like to publicly thank the US administration and President Obama, given that without their help and persistence that an agreement should include the issue of debt, we may not have achieved one,” Greek government Deputy PM Yannis Dragasakis reiterated on Wednesday.

Dragasakis, one of the more highly regarded members of the Cabinet, made the comment during a radio interview, where he expressed a view that two economic models are now in conflict vis-a-vis the “Greek issue”: expansion through impoverishment versus an improvement of economic figures through growth.

When the presenter of the radio show — on the leftist “Kokkino” station — responded that there were “reactions” on (US-based, for-profit and stock market-listed) social media by some users regarding his comment, the top government minister explained that he thanked the US for its mediation, “through which a necessity to reach an agreement was understood… I consider this a historical event”.

Conversely, he said that on issues that “hurt us”, such as labor issues, the US side exerted significant pressure.