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Interview: European leaders stunned by Greek voters' rejection: MEP

Xinhua, July 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

European leaders are in a state of bewilderment following the rejection by Greek voters of the latest creditor proposals, according to French MEP Jean-Luc Melenchon.

Speaking to Xinhua in Strasbourg on Tuesday, Melenchon, who represents the far-left GUI-NGL group in the European Parliament, said the referendum result "took Europe's leaders by surprise."

"Some even believed that the referendum would not take place or maybe that the brutality of the debt plan would push the Greeks to say Yes," he said.

"The Eurogroup has no other way of pressuring Greece than to push the country to the edge of bankruptcy. But in that case, it would be the member countries of the financial stability mechanism, including France and Germany, that would have to pay," said Melenchon.

"The scenario is exactly the same as for Cyprus," he continued. "First, increased pressure, then a brutal list of demands, finally breaking the banks' liquidity with a financial blockade that plunged the country into a kind of asphyxia."

Regarding the consequences of the Greek crisis internationally, Melenchon also believes that "there could be a movement where those with euros seek to discard in favor of a more stable currency." Endit