Alexis Tsipras met with the cabinet members partaking in the negotiations on Friday and clarified his position: “Forget all notions of elections or a referendum. The government has a recent mandate by the people, the majority of the people and a comfortable majority in Parliament”.

Mr. Tsipras appeared ready to bear the brunt of difficult choices stating: “The Greek people trusted us to make crucial decisions and handle the negotiations. Nobody expected an easy situation. Our decisions and their handling is completely up to us, as hard as they may be”. He added: “If we have a viable agreement, as tough as compromised may be, we will bear the load. Our only criterion is exiting the crisis and the memoranda of subservience”.