Athens--Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday accused international creditors of trying to "humiliate" the country and called on Europe to reconsider its support for harsh IMF reform proposals.
"The fixation on cuts...is most likely part of a political plan...to humiliate an entire people that has suffered in the past five years through no fault of its own," Tsipras told lawmakers of his radical left Syriza party.
"The time has come for the IMF's proposals to be judged in public...by Europe," the PM said, adding that the global lender bore "criminal responsibility" for austerity measures that plunged the country into a six-year recession.
Tsipras' outburst, coming as Greece faced pressure to tone down the rhetoric and help reach a deal with its creditors that will avert default at the end of the month, is characteristic of the acrimonious and unpredictable talks that have dragged on for five months.
The negotiations concern the release of the 7.2 billion euros ($8.1 billion) in rescue funds remaining in Greece's massive bailout from the IMF, European Union and European Central Bank.
The embattled 40-year-old premier held a round of consultations with rival political leaders earlier Tuesday to seek support for a potential compromise deal with just two weeks before the bailout expires.
Also at the end of the month, Greece faces a 1.6 billion euro payment to the IMF, with another 6.7 billion euros due to the ECB in July and August, which Greek officials have said the government cannot afford.
An opposition leader who met with Tsipras said the premier had cited "two or three gestures" that he could make to break the deadlock.
This had raised hope that Athens was about to cede ground to try to avert a devastating default, as EU leaders considered holding an emergency summit over the crisis.
But Tsipras returned to the offensive, accusing the creditors of presenting proposals that merely pooled their toughest demands.
"Right now, what dominates is the IMF's harsh views on tough measures, and Europe's on denying any discussion over debt viability," he said.
The Athens stock exchange was down 4.66 percent after Tsipras's speech.
It had been hoped that a deal could be reached by Thursday when the eurozone's 19 finance ministers, who control the purse strings of the rescue programme, meet in Luxembourg.
But Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said Athens would not bring new reform measures to Luxembourg.
"The Eurogroup is not the right place to present proposals which haven't been discussed and negotiated on a lower level before," Varoufakis told Germany's mass-circulation daily Bild.
AFP
