Greece’s combative finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, has resigned, hours after voters backed his call to reject creditors’ demands for more austerity in a referendum.
Varoufakis said it was felt his departure would be helpful in finding a solution to the country’s debt crisis.
Eurozone finance ministers, with whom he repeatedly clashed, had wanted him removed, Varoufakis explained.
Meanwhile, global financial markets have fallen over fears that Greece is heading for an exit from the euro.
The European Central Bank (ECB) is to meet to discuss whether to raise its emergency cash support for Greek banks, which are reportedly just days away from running out of funds and collapsing.
The majority of Greeks say they want to stay in the single currency, but their angry “No” vote in Sunday’s referendum has made that far harder.
Varoufakis announced his resignation on his blog only hours after it emerged that 61.3 percent of Greeks had voted to reject the demands for more austerity from the ECB, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He said Sunday’s referendum would “stay in history as a unique moment when a small European nation rose up against debt-bondage”.
Varoufakis added that he had been “made aware of a certain preference by some Eurogroup participants, and assorted ‘partners’, for my… ‘absence’ from its meetings”.
Prime Minister Tsipras had judged this to be “potentially helpful to him in reaching an agreement”, he noted.
His replacement is expected to be named after a meeting of Greek political leaders on Monday.
As thousands of Greeks took to the streets celebrate the referendum result on Sunday evening, Tsipras said they had “made a very brave choice”.
“The mandate you gave me is not the mandate of a rupture with Europe, but a mandate to strengthen our negotiating position to seek a viable solution,” he added.
He added that he was willing to go back to the negotiating table on Monday, noting that an International Monetary Fund (IMF) assessment published this week confirmed that restructuring Greece’s €240bn (£170bn) euro debt was necessary.
However, Germany’s Deputy Chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel, told local media that renewed negotiations with Greece were “difficult to imagine” and that Mr Tsipras had “torn down the bridges” with Europe.
Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who heads the Eurogroup, said the referendum result was “very regrettable”.
Greece had been locked in negotiations with its creditors for months when the Greek government unexpectedly called a referendum on the terms it was being offered.
Banks have been shut since last Monday after the European Central Bank declined to give Greece more emergency funding.
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