Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis denies reports of resignation
Yanis Varoufakis dismissed reports he will soon resign as finance minister as Greece scrambles to avoid defaulting on its loan repayments.
Varoufakis took to Twitter to slam reports of his impending resignation as "grossly premature" and sounded weary of having to clarify his position for what he called "the umpteenth time".
The possibility of a Greece exit from the eurozone looks increasingly likely as the deadline for a €300m (£213m) debt repayment to the International Monetary Fund on 5 June rapidly approaches.
Rumours of my impending resignation are (for the umpteenth time) grossly premature…
— Yanis Varoufakis (@yanisvaroufakis) May 31, 2015
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Varoufakis quoted his influence John Maynard Keynes to tell a follower that "in the long run we are all dead" but insisted the troika (Greece's creditors – the European Central Bank, the EU and the IMF) is "stuck with me".
@nikimoza1 "In the long run we are all dead." J.M.Keynes. (In the medium run, those nostalgic of the troika days are stuck with me @ FinMin)
— Yanis Varoufakis (@yanisvaroufakis) May 31, 2015
The "rockstar economist" turned politician has endured a torrid few weeks in which he has struggled to secure bailout funding from its eurozone creditors.
He has repeatedly found himself at loggerheads with the IMF, criticising it last week for its uncompromising stance on its desired Greek finance reforms. Varoufakis said the IMF needed to "get their act together".
In June Greece is scheduled to pay back a total €1.6bn to the IMF and is believed to be struggling to find the money without securing a deal with its creditors.