ATHENS, Greece, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Alexis Tsipras, Greece's new Prime Minister, said Wednesday his country would not default on repaying a $272 billion bailout.
He told his Cabinet he would negotiate with Greece's creditors -- the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Union -- to change the terms of repayment, which have included austerity measures that led to high unemployment, a shrunken economy and last weekend's election victory of Tsipras' left-wing Syriza party. Campaign rhetoric suggested Greece could abandon the euro and renege on the debt. Tsipras has asked the "troika" of lenders write off a third of the debt, an idea Eurozone leaders rejected immediately.