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Merkel says Greece must understand help as obligation

Xinhua, March 19, 2015 Adjust font size:

Greece must understand that the financial help from other countries is also an obligation, said German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday.

Speaking to the lower house of the country's parliament, Merkel said that Greece still has a long and bumpy road to go before resolving its sovereignty debt crisis.

Merkel pointed out that the international partners are there to assist Athens but Greece must understand the help as an obligation to reform its budget and "to work on it so that one day it doesn't need help any more."

For further discussions with Greece, Merkel has invited Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to visit Berlin on Monday. "I'm looking forward to his visit," said the chancellor.

Merkel also reiterated her warning against the grave consequences of an eurozone disintegration, saying that if the euro failed, Europe would fail, as the euro is not only a currency but also an expression of the will to unite the peoples of Europe.

European leaders are to convene in Brussels on Thursday night in order to look for measures to deal with Greece's situation, but the chancellor said she believes that no solution would be reached at the summit. Endi