Hollande, Merkel Say 'Door Open to Discussions' on Greece as Finance Minister Quits

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French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday the door was open for a return to debt negotiations with Greece, but called on Athens to make "serious" proposals.

"The door is open to discussions and it is now up to the government of Alexis Tsipras to make serious, credible proposals so that this willingness to stay in the eurozone can translate into a lasting program," Hollande said.  

"I stress the fact that time is running out and there is urgency -- urgency for Greece and urgency for Europe," he said after meeting Merkel in Paris a day after Greek voters rejected bailout proposals by international lenders.

Merkel echoed Hollande's comments that the door was open to further talks to resolve the debt crisis, but said conditions on returning to talks for a new rescue package "have not yet been met".

"And that is why we are now waiting for very precise proposals from the Greek prime minister, a program that will allow Greece to return to prosperity," said Merkel.

Ahead of a hastily-arranged eurozone meeting on Tuesday, Hollande said that while in Europe "there is place for solidarity, there is also a balance between responsibility and solidarity which must be our course of action in the coming days."

Merkel said eurozone countries had already shown "a lot of solidarity with Greece -- the last proposal was very generous."

She said it was also vital to respect the views of all 19 eurozone countries. 

"That also is democracy," she said.

Heads of state meeting on Tuesday will define a position in response to Greek proposals, Hollande said. 

"It's a question of visibility, credibility and I would even say dignity," he said.

"Europe is not just an economic, monetary, financial construct. Europe is an assembly founded on values, principles, on a conception of the world... a conception founded on freedom, openness, and also on respect."

Earlier on Monday, Yanis Varoufakis, a firebrand who had infuriated European counterparts, announced he was resigning at PM Tsipras' request in a move to placate creditors.

He was replaced by Euclid Tsakalotos, a much more discreet and calm junior foreign minister and economist who had been Greece's pointman in the negotiations with creditors.

Varoufakis' departure came a day after Greek voters overwhelmingly rejected more austerity required by international creditors under a bailout deal, heightening fears of a "Grexit."

Berlin said earlier in the day that the departure of Varoufakis did not change anything.

"It is not about people but rather positions," Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said, adding there was currently "no basis to enter into negotiations on a new aid program."

"It is up to Greece" if it wants to stay in the eurozone, he said. "We are waiting to see which proposals the Greek government makes to its European partners."

A Greek government source said Tsipras and Merkel had spoken by phone and agreed Athens' proposals would be presented at a hastily-called eurozone summit on Tuesday.

- 'Ready to assist' -

Berlin's tough stance underlined a divide within Europe over the Greek crisis, with France, Italy and Spain adopting a more conciliatory tone.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on his Facebook page that Europe needed to "talk not only about austerity and balance sheets but about growth, infrastructure", while Spain said it was open to new negotiations for a new Greek bailout.

And although last week Greece defaulted on a 1.5 billion euro repayment to the IMF, effectively cutting it off from further financial assistance from the fund, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said it was "monitoring the situation" and stood "ready to assist Greece if requested to do so".

As eurozone leaders weighed the cost of the vote, Tsipras also spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin by telephone as Athens scrambled to restore liquidity to its battered banking system.

After jubilant celebrations by 'No' voters following their 61-percent referendum victory, Greeks returned to the reality of closed banks and queuing at ATMs for their daily withdrawal limit of 60 euros.

Fears were growing that the cash machines could soon run out despite government-enforced caps on withdrawals, and emergency funding was urgently needed from the European Central Bank (ECB) to stave off economic collapse.

Greek banks were to remain closed until Wednesday, Greece's state news agency reported, citing officials.

"I'm very afraid we will get no cash anymore in the coming days. They really have to fix it, end of this week at the latest, otherwise it (the economy) is collapsing," pharmacist Lambros Vritios said in reference to the banking system.

Vritios said he had been to several ATMs but found them empty. "It's really crushing me."

Despite its hardline approach to debt talks, Germany said eurozone leaders should discuss humanitarian aid for the austerity-fatigued country with widespread poverty and high unemployment.

"The people there need help and we should not refuse it just because we're unhappy with the result of the referendum," German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel said.

Market reactions to the referendum were mostly muted, suggesting limited contagion from a possible "Grexit", or Greece's exit from the eurozone.

- 'Greece in limbo' -

European figures emphasized that a euro firewall was strong enough to contain jitters from Greece.

"The stability of the euro area is not in question," European Commission vice president Valdis Dombrovskis told a press briefing. "We have everything we need to manage the situation."

A flurry of meetings also took place Monday, with German and French finance ministers holding talks in Warsaw, while the Euro Working Group of top treasury officials was to meet in Brussels.

More than three-quarters of Greeks want to stay in the eurozone, according to surveys. But analysts are now putting the chances of a Grexit at "very high."

"Did Tsipras celebrate a Pyrrhic 'No'?" asked Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING-DiBa bank.

"Lots of bad blood is on the floors. Greek banks are closed and Greece does not have a bailout program."

Holger Schmieding, analyst at Berenberg bank, also warned that the change in finance minister may be "more symbolic than a change of substance" as Varoufakis has not been leading the negotiations since April.

"Greece is in limbo until further notice, sliding towards Grexit unless Athens changes course," he said.

Tsipras, 40, insists that instead of Grexit, the creditors will now finally have to talk about restructuring Greece's massive 240 billion euro ($267 billion) debt to them.

The last EU-IMF bailout for Greece expired last Tuesday, despite Tsipras' appeals for it to be extended.

Greece was officially declared in default on Friday by the European Financial Stability Facility, which holds 144.6 billion euros ($160 billion) of Greek loans.

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