This Article is From Sep 25, 2015

Greece Must 'Quickly Implement' Bailout Deal: Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras

Greece Must 'Quickly Implement' Bailout Deal: Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras

File Photo: Greek PM Alexis Tsipras (AFP)

Athens, Greece: Greece must "quickly implement" the terms of a tough EU bailout agreed in July, newly re-elected left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Friday.

"We face the obligation to quickly implement what has been agreed," Tsipras told his new government's inaugural cabinet meeting.

In the closing days of Tsipras' last administration, before his resignation in August, Athens signed up to more tax hikes and public spending cuts in return for a three-year, 86-billion-euro ($96-billion) EU bailout.

Stonewalling creditor proposals with an anti-austerity referendum in July, the 41-year-old leader brought Greece to the brink of exiting the eurozone before backing down.

The U-turn split Tsipras' ruling Syriza party and forced him to step down, but he comfortably won re-election on Sunday with a pledge to mitigate the impact of the bailout.

"We are aware of the difficult points of the deal... we know how to find the right antidote where there are side effects," Tsipras said on Friday.

 
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