MOSCOW (Sputnik) – German Finance Minister Woflgang Schaeuble was wrong to advocate Greece’s temporary exit from the European currency zone as Berlin’s official position, Vice Chancellor and Economics Minister Sigmar Gabriel said.
"Introducing the idea of a Grexit as a German proposal was, in my view, not reasonable," Gabriel said in portions of an interview with Germany’s Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen (ZDF) television released on Saturday.
Speaking Friday ahead of the German parliament’s vote to approve new talks with cash-strapped Greece over a third bailout package, Schaeuble reiterated his support for the so-called Grexit.
Gabriel, chairman of the SPD, cast aside international criticism of Germany’s role in the Greek crisis and said Berlin was right to demand economic reforms from Athens.
"This will show that the path is correct," he was quoted by the ZDF.
The broadcaster’s full interview with Gabriel is scheduled to air at 7:10 p.m. (17:10 GMT) Sunday.
