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Greece raps ECB's reluctance to accept Greek bonds

Xinhua, February 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

Greece's banking system was sound in terms of liquidity and financing and there was no reason for concern, a Greek government spokesman said on Thursday.

"We do not blackmail, but we are not blackmailed," Greek government spokesman Gavriil Sakellaridis told a Greek television channel.

Sakellaridis made these remarks after the European Central Bank (ECB) announced that it will no longer accept Greek state bonds as collateral from local banks from Feb. 11.

The decision by the ECB was interpreted by local analysts as a step aiming to press the newly-elected left government to drop the rhetoric over a fresh drastic debt relief and come to an agreement with Greece's creditors on post-bailout cooperation.

The ECB's announcement was putting political pressure on all sides, not just Greece, in the ongoing negotiation, he added.

A Greek Finance Ministry statement interpreted the decision, which was announced a few hours after Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis met with ECB President Mario Draghi in Frankfurt on Wednesday, as a move "to pressure the Euro group to move quickly to seal a new mutually beneficial deal for Greece and its partners."

According to the Greek Finance Ministry's statement, the decision to suspend the eligibility of Greek state bonds as collateral for liquidity "did not reflect any negative developments for Greece's financial system."

The ECB explained that the decision was based on the fact that at the moment the successful conclusion of the current Greek program, which will expire in late February, was in serious doubt.

The Greek Finance Ministry statement concluded that the "government is widening each day the round of negotiations with partners and remains focused on the targets of its social salvation program, which was approved by Greek people with their vote."

Greek government sources said that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras conveyed the same message to Draghi during a telephone conversation in the early hours of Thursday. Endi