MOSCOW (Sputnik) — George Vlahos told Sputnik Wednesday that those who oppose the new bailout deal will likely be forced to leave.
"I think that of course someone who votes "OXI" ("No") will have to leave, but it is definitely the decision of the Prime Minister," Vlahos said.
Several senior officials, including Alternate Minister of Finance Nadia Valavani and Secretary General of the Ministry of Economy, Infrastructure, Maritime Affairs and Tourism of Greece Manos Manousakis have already handed in their resignation citing disagreements with the government’s policy on the bailout deal with creditors. More resignations are expected to follow.
Vlahos said that the agreement between Athens and its lenders "could have been better," stressing, however, that now is not the time to assign blame for what he called "wasted opportunities."
"I hope Greece will be consequent in fulfilling its obligations towards its creditors. Some move in the field of 'OXI' ['No'], without actually explaining what they mean. I hope that in the next hours the Prime Minister will finalize the agreement [on the new bailout program] thus giving a solution to the political problem," Vlahos said.
The Greek parliament has to ratify Athens' agreement with its European lenders until the end of Wednesday in order to unlock the new aid package.
"It is true that the present agreement has very strong and hard measures that were not discussed in the framework of the previous draft agreements. But today we have to face the tough reality," Vlahos said.
