Greek PM must consider election, referendum if talks fail: deputy speaker

[ATHENS] Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras must decide whether to call a snap poll or a referendum if talks with the government's international creditors fail, a deputy speaker of the Greek parliament said on Monday.

Athens has stuck to demands that its creditors propose less harsh terms for a cash-for-reforms deal after talks collapsed over the weekend, bringing Athens one step closer to a default that could tip it out of the eurozone.

"There is a scene of a provocation, impasse and rupture. The initiative is now with the prime minister," Alexis Mitropoulos, a lawmaker from Mr Tsipras's Syriza party and a parliament deputy speaker told Greek Star TV on Monday.

"We must reconsider our national negotiating plan ... the people must say certain things ... either a referendum or elections, this is the prerogative of the prime minister," he said.

REUTERS