Gov't aiming for a deal without 'a single euro' of additional austerity, Tzanakopoulos repeats

Speaking during the regular press briefing, he attacked main opposition New Democracy and its leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis, saying they had found themselves "at a strategic impasse ahead of the conclusion of the second review."

"Up until now they were demanding that the review should not be completed and that elections be held. They accuse us of supposedly delaying. They hope that in the future when an agreement has been reached they will be able to accuse us of not negotiating effectively. The Greek people should draw their own conclusions. It is not permissible to play politics from the sidelines during critical times for the country," he said.

Mitsotakis, he added, spent 75 minutes outlining his policies for the Greek economy to the German chancellor behind closed doors but not even half a minute to present them to the Greek people, since these were identical to the positions of the most extreme of the lenders and nothing but harsh austerity for the majority of society.