Greece crisis: No vote would mean euro exit, leaders warn

German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said the vote would be "yes or no to the eurozone".

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has urged a no vote but insists he wants Greece to stay in the euro.

Talks between Greece and its creditors broke down last week, leading to Greek banks having to shut this week.

Global stock markets fell sharply on Monday.

As well as Mr Gabriel, the leaders of the eurozone's other two largest economies said Greek voters would effectively be deciding next Sunday whether or not they wanted to stay in the eurozone.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said the choice would be between the euro and the drachma, while French President Francois Hollande said "what's at stake is... knowing whether the Greeks want to stay within the eurozone".

Speaking to Greek television on Monday evening, Mr Tsipras urged as many Greeks to vote "no" as possible on Sunday to give his government a stronger position to restart negotiations.

He said his government had a mandate "to be within the European framework but with more justice".

"They will not kick us out of the eurozone because the cost is immense," he said.

Mr Tsipras hinted strongly that he would resign if the result of the referendum was a "yes" vote.

"If the Greek people want to proceed with austerity plans in perpetuity, which will leave us unable to lift our head... we will respect it, but we will not be the ones to carry it out," he said.

The UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, said a Greek exit would be "traumatic" and Britain should not underestimate the knock-on effects, even though it was outside the single currency.

He said UK retirees who live in Greece would continue to receive their pensions, but advised British holidaymakers to take more euros than usual.

 

(BBC)