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Cash-Strapped Greece Rules Out More Austerity Measures – Finance Minister

© AP Photo / Yorgos KarahalisRuined EU and Greek flags fly in tatters from a flag pole at a beach at Anavissos village, southwest of Athens, on Monday, March 16, 2015
Ruined EU and Greek flags fly in tatters from a flag pole at a beach at Anavissos village, southwest of Athens, on Monday, March 16, 2015 - Sputnik International
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Greece will not agree to more austerity measures as the debt-ridden country negotiates a deal with its international creditors, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said Monday.

A Greek flag flies behind a statue to European unity outside the EU Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, May 20, 2015 - Sputnik International
Greece Makes 'Enormous Strides' to Reach Deal With Lenders
MOSCOW (Sputnik) In 2011, Athens and the European Commission signed a bailout plan to help resolve the Greek government debt crisis, a move that sparked anti-austerity protests in the capital and other Greek cities.

"Our government cannot – and will not – accept a cure that has proven itself over five long years to be worse than the disease," Varoufakis wrote in an opinion feature published by the Project Syndicate website.

The outspoken finance minister added that cutting public spending or increasing taxes would impede recovery and "erode Greece’s willingness and ability to see through the reform agenda that the country so desperately needs."

"Clearly, our creditors’ demand for more austerity has nothing to do with concerns about genuine reform or moving Greece onto a sustainable fiscal path," Varoufakis said.

On Sunday, the minister said that Greece made "enormous strides" at reaching a deal with its lenders and expected them to also invest efforts, adding that if Greece leaves the Eurozone as a result of the crisis it would be a "disaster for everyone involved."

Varoufakis’ statements echoed Greek Prime Minister Alex Tsipras’ call on lenders to make "necessary concessions" as Greece was ready to accept a deal but not on "humiliating" terms.

Greece's national debt stands at around $350 billion, of which $270 billion is owed to its three biggest lenders, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Commission and the European Central Bank.

Greece must repay almost $7.5 billion to the IMF and in short-term bills in June alone, but, according to the country’s Interior Minister Nikos Voutsis, Athens does not have money to make the next IMF repayment.

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