Greek PM says to negotiate only within Euro, not turn to Russia

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Monday that he will negotiate a new debt agreement for his country within the European union   and will not turn to Russia for a loan.

"We are engaged in substantial negotiations with our European partners and those who have lent us and we do have obligations towards them," Tsipras said after talks with Cyprus' president Nicos Anastasiades.

When asked whether Greece planned to request a loan from Russia, Tsipras said: "Right now, there are no other thoughts on the table."

Tsipras also said that a Grexit, that is Greece leaving the euro, was out of the question.

However, he stressed that Greece and Cyprus are not two small countries on the southeastern edge of Europe, adding that both EU and the Eurozone would be torn apart along their southeastern flank without the two countries.

Tsipras arrived in fellow bailed-out Cyprus for his first foreign visit as prime minister before embarking on a European tour to convince the main European countries, including France and Germany, to accord his government more time to present a new economic program, which involves a roll back on austerity measures.

He is scheduled to visit Rome on Tuesday to join his Finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, for talks with the Italian government on his plan to scrap a bailout economic adjustment program agreed by Greece and international lenders - the Eurogroup and the International Monetary Fund - four years ago.

Speaking at a press conference alongside Anastasiades, Tsipras called for the replacement of the troika, the teams of technocrats representing the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF, who review progress of bailed out countries in implementing their economic adjustment programs.

"I believe that this would be a mature and necessary development for Europe," Tsipras said, adding that the troika mechanism is not based on European law.

Anastasiades said that Greece and Cyprus are moving along a common line on economic issues, adding that both countries will jointly work on the European field to achieve a turn towards development policies.

"It is our common stance that in order to face current problems reforms are needed," he added.

Tsipras said that at his talks with Anastasiades, which lasted more than 90 minutes, they discussed the need for a coordinated policy to build a bridge of peace and cooperation between Europe and Russia.

Anastasiades hinted that Greece and Cyprus are in disagreement with suggestions about imposing further sanctions on Russia over Ukraine.

"We believe that the Minsk agreement and diplomatic means will give the answer to the problem. We'll work with other countries which share the same view," Anastasiades said.

Tsipras further said Greece strongly supports Cyprus' efforts for a solution to its long standing political problem through negotiations.

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