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Greek PM defends controversial 'Plan B' for euro zone exit

31 July 2015 18:43 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras acknowledged on Friday that his government had made covert contingency plans in case Greece was forced out of the euro, but rejected accusations that he had plotted a return to the drachma, APA reports quoting Reuters.

Tsipras was forced to respond to the issue in parliament after former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis this week revealed efforts to hack into citizens' tax codes to create a parallel payment system, prompting shock and outrage in Greece.

The disclosure heaped new pressure on Tsipras, who is also battling a rebellion within his Syriza party and starting tough talks with the European Union and International Monetary Fund to seal a third bailout program in less than three weeks.

"We didn't design or have a plan to pull the country out of the euro, but we did have emergency plans," Tsipras told parliament. "If our partners and lenders had prepared a Grexit plan, shouldn't we as a government have prepared our defense?"

He compared the plan to a country preparing its defenses ahead of war, saying it was the obligation of a responsible government to have contingency arrangements in place.

He did not directly refer to Varoufakis' disclosure of plans to hack into his ministry's software to obtain tax codes. But Tspiras said the idea of a database giving Greeks passwords to make payments to settle arrears was hardly "a covert and satanic plan to take the country out of the euro".

Tsipras also defended his embattled former finance minister, who has continued to create headaches for the government since being ousted earlier this month.

"Mr. Varoufakis might have made mistakes, as all of us have ... You can blame him as much as you want for his political plan, his statements, for his taste in shirts, for vacations in Aegina," Tsipras said.

"But you cannot accuse him of stealing the money of Greek people or having a covert plan to take Greece to the precipice."

Dressed in a colorful paisley pattern shirt, Varoufakis sat listening to the question time debate.