Greece Unable to Cope With Crisis While Still Within EU – Communist Party

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Greece will not be able to overcome the country's economic and financial crisis until it pulls out of the European Union and NATO, Elissios Vagenas, a member of the Greek Communist Party (KKE), told Sputnik Turkey.

"The Communist Party once warned the Greek people of the fact that it is impossible to recover from the crisis, being part of the EU and NATO imperialist structure… We believe that the way out of the crisis lies in the rejection of the EU and NATO membership, and a policy independent from these structures," Vagenas stated.

The politician added that although certain Greek parties, such as left-wing Syriza, social democratic PASOK (Panhellenic Socialist Movement), centrist POTAMI (The River) and conservative New Democracy, claim the bailout agreement is a lifeline for the country’s citizens, it will in practice result in severe consequences for the population.

"That’s why, the government has decided to hold early elections: to once again come to power, while the people are not aware of this new life buoy’s burden," Vagenas outlined.

Greece is currently experiencing a deep economic crisis, struggling to repay its multi-billion debt to its international creditors, including the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and some eurozone countries.

On August 20, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced his resignation to open the door for snap parliamentary elections in a bid to secure support for his stance on the new €86 billion ($95-billion) bailout package with the country's creditors.