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Greece will not default on debt, P.M. says

He said he would negotiate with creditors to reduce his country's payments.

By Ed Adamczyk
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. UPI/Hugo Philpott
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. UPI/Hugo Philpott | License Photo

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.

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"We won't get into a mutually destructive clash but we will not continue a policy of subjection," Tsipras said of repayment of the 2010 bailout.

A call by European Union leaders Tuesday to renew sanctions against Russia, expiring in March, was met by a response by Greece that the statement did not have Greece's consent. It was suggested Greece is in the process of building better relations with Russia, and use its potential approval of sanctions as a bargaining chip.

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"Some would also argue that the new Greek government position is just a negotiating ploy in regard to its priority to renegotiate Greece's (repayment) program," Timothy Ash of Standard Bank told CNBC Wednesday.

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