Portugal not to be affected by Greek uncertainty: PM

Portugal will not be hit by Greek uncertainty and it is in the Greek government's hands to reach an agreement with its European partners, Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho said on Friday.

"I would really like Europe not to have to be affected by an accident in Greece, but as I said in the past, we don't need to find solutions inside the institutional frameworks and European laws," he said at a quarterly debate at parliament.

"I think it is in the Greek government's hands to conclude these negotiations in the most favorable way for all," he added.

The prospect of Greece leaving the euro zone has recently been brought up as the country suffers a full-blown banking crisis and the left-wing government faces criticism for refusing to negotiate with its partners.

The EU has called an emergency summit after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras insisted in rejecting creditor' terms, while lenders try to get Greece to present a set of reforms to access the 7.2 billion euros (8.14 billion U.S. dollars) in aid that remains from its bailout program.

The Portuguese government faced criticism by the main opposition Socialist Party on Friday for "placing obstacles" to a European agreement with Greece.

"Europe has sufficient threats surrounding it to give itself the luxury of weakening further by splitting up," leader of the Socialist Party Antonio Costa said on Friday.

Passos Coelho pointed that Portugal and Ireland were no longer "desperate, restless, and worried with possible consequences in Greece."

He said Portugal should be seen as a country which will not be "caught off guard" due to uncertainty and the materialization of risks in the euro zone, pointing out that Portugal was recovering and has gained credibility. Endite