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Tsipras tells SYRIZA MPs he exhausted ‘every possible solution’

Tsipras tells SYRIZA MPs he exhausted ‘every possible solution’

“I exhausted all of my negotiating capabilities and every possible solution,” Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told his SYRIZA party's parliamentary group on Wednesday, shortly before MPs are to vote on a string of reforms to clinch a controversial bailout deal with Greece's international creditors.

Addressing growing dissent among the ranks of the radical leftist party, Tsipras said that he is open to any “reliable and realistic alternatives” he may have overlooked, but called on his lawmakers to maintain the party's unity.

“We tried to negotiate as best we could; no one can doubt the government's desire and efforts for a mutually acceptable solution,” Tsipras said, referring to more than five months of acrimonious talks between Athens and its eurozone counterparts.

He added that pressure had mounted in the final days of the negotiation from certain circles for Greece to be ousted from the eurozone “in a manner that did not allow any way to take advantage of whatever benefits a return to a national currency could bring.”

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