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Greek gov't sources, former FinMin Varoufakis deny printing drachma plan

Xinhua, October 15, 2016 Adjust font size:

Greek government sources and former Finance Minister Yannis Varoufakis strongly denied claims included in a new book on French President Francois Hollande that Greece was planning to print drachmas in Russia had negotiations with its international creditors in 2015 flopped.

According to the book, Hollande was informed by Russian President Vladimir Putin that in the summer of 2015 before the signing of the third bailout program, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras had asked to print drachmas in Russia, because they did not have such a press.

According to the book entitled "A President Should Not Say That: Secrets of Five Years in Office," written by French daily Le Monde journalists, the Russian leader told Hollande that he did not support such a development.

Meanwhile, Greek government sources told Greek national news agency AMNA: "At no time was such an issue raised by the Greek prime minister. On the contrary, it was commonly agreed that the only realistic path was for Greece to remain in the euro zone."

The allegations were also rejected by Varoufakis who was serving as finance minister at the time.

"I can assure that during my term in office there was no thought about printing new currency and certainly we did not approach third parties in Greece or abroad," he said in a press statement issued on Friday.

Addressing the ruling SYRIZA party conference in Athens on Thursday, Tsipras repeated that "leaving the euro was not and is not a progressive plan." Endit