Azernews.Az

By Bloomberg

German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government refused give ground on Greek aid after Sunday’s referendum went against it, saying that Greece must now present a plan on how to stay in the euro area.

In his most detailed response to Greece’s rejection in a Sunday referendum of creditors’ terms for aid, Merkel’s chief spokesman, Steffen Seibert, damped any expectations of a rapid resolution to the standoff, saying the conditions for bailout talks to restart were not yet in place. A deal within 48 hours, as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s government suggested would happen, will be “difficult to achieve,” Seibert said.

The referendum result represents “a ‘no’ to the principle that determined help to program states over years, namely that solidarity and states’ own efforts are inseparably connected,” Seibert told reporters in Berlin on Monday. “The German government continues to recognize this principle.”

The response from the biggest country contributor to Greece’s rescue placed the emphasis on Greece to find a way forward after it rejected the recipe of spending cuts and tax increases that Ireland and Portugal adopted to exit programs. Merkel is due to meet with French President Francois Hollande in Paris later on Monday to forge a joint stance on Greece.

“We’re open to talks,” Seibert said. “But as of today, especially after yesterday’s referendum result and what the Greek government has declared, we don’t see the conditions for new talks on a new aid program.”