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The critical meeting of the Eurogroup, at which Greek Minister of Finance Yanis Varoufakis will try to convince the European partners as regards Athens signing a new agreement for the financing of Greece, will take place in just one day and it is evident that the leader of SYRIZA’s government partner, Independent Greeks, is seeking a solution outside Europe. In an interview with Mega channel TV Minister of Defence Panos Kammenos pointed out that the government could find financing from third countries such as Russia, China, the USA and others. Specifically in the case of Russia, Kammenos said that, in return, the Greek government could provide infrastructure such as ports and railways, in which Moscow is interested.

"I have very good relations with Russia. We are talking about a "plan B" with them. They are considering the probability of cancelling the embargo on Greek products and of beginning to import them again," Kammenos said, adding, "We are also interested in cooperating on the construction of a gas pipeline together with the Russians."
 
The leader of Independent Greeks does not exclude the possibility of a referendum in the event that the negotiations with the European partners fail. "If it comes to a conflict, there is no doubt that the Greek people will have their say."

In his words, the scenarios for Greece's exit from the euro zone are groundless, "Grexit is just a threat without effects, something like the bogeyman". In addition, he strongly opposed "the German dominance in Europe" and defined the US involvement in the negotiations with the lenders as important.

Panos Kammenos was clear that the Greek government debt is not sustainable and the government aims at haircutting it, regardless of how this will take place and what it will be called.

He said that the cooperation of Independent Greeks with SYRIZA dates back to the time when both parties were in opposition and in particular, in connection with the vote on the bills that the previous government had submitted, showing that the positions of both parties are 80 percent identical. "This percentage was enough to bring to the foreground those things that unite us and for the country to have a government," said Kammenos, not denying that Independent Greeks and SYRIZA have different positions on many issues.

He said he was against the statement of Minister of Finance Yanis Varoufakis that he agrees with 60-70 percent of the memorandum as well as against the closure of prisons with a high degree of security. "It is normal to have differences with SYRIZA. We will not abandon our basic positions. This is our agreement with Mr. Tsipras." Kammenos added that they have not signed a document on cooperation.

It is noteworthy that his statements about the sources of financing totally contradict the previous public statements by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. During his visit to Nicosia and in response to a question regarding the probability of Greece addressing its request for a loan to Russia, Tsipras replied, "We are in negotiations with our European partners and all those who have provided loans to Greece. It has commitments to them. We are not discussing any other options."

The scenarios about the possible rapprochement between Athens and Moscow have provoked reactions in Brussels and Berlin, one of them being the statement by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, "I do not believe that Russia can replace European solidarity."