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"If hard-line backers of austerity in Europe don’t budge Greece will have no choice but to default on its upcoming debt payments," said Greek Minister of Finance Yanis Varoufakis in an interview with the Huffington Post.

Asked what will happen if Greece's creditors continue to be firm in terms of the implementation of the agreement of 20 February and whether Greece has any other option than default in the coming weeks, he replies as follows:

"Let me be precise on this point, because these are problematic times and there are many people who will latch on to any word or phrase that they deem fit in order to make mischief. This is not the time to allow them to do so. The fact is that Greece is out of the markets and it has been redeeming its debts for the last few months using its own scarce liquidity."

"This cannot continue. If it could, then we would not be a programme country, right? Therefore, if our partners say, "There is no liquidity for you, no instalments, no new agreement," this certainly would be unsustainable as it would with any other country that is in a kind of IMF programme, a Troika programme or ECB programme," said Varoufakis.

The Greek media comment that in fact Greece could make its debt payments even without obtaining capital but the government should decide to stop paying salaries and pensions for this purpose. The statements of the Minister of Finance make it clear that in view of the choice between serving the foreign debt and paying pensions, the government intends to take care of pensioners.

In response to the question whether it would be possible for Greece to default and continue to be part of the euro zone, Varoufakis said that Greece did not make its debt payments 3 years ago either, suggesting that it could do so again if it failed to achieve an agreement with its creditors by 24 April.

"It has already happened. In 2012 the Greek government defaulted on 100 billion euro of existing debt commitments," he said.

However, the Minister of Finance pointed out that a default of any kind "is not the right solution."

"We are not working in this direction. It is not something we are planning to do. It is not something we want. What we want is to create a new agreement between Greece and our international partners."

Contrary to Varoufakis’ assurances the German press today is flooded with publications about the financial impasse of Greece and the probability of Grexit.

"Wolfgang Schaeuble is not joking," reads an article in the newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung entitled "Lost Illusions". "That is why the markets took seriously the words of the Minister of Finance in New York: "There will be no solution to the Greek financial problem in the coming days." Precisely that is required in order for Greece to avoid defaulting. In other words, this means that the decision is taken more or less. It seems that Greece will have to leave the euro zone," reads the newspaper.

In an article entitled " 'On the Greek calends' - the crisis will continue" the newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung describes the various scenarios about solving the Greek debt crisis. "Default? Grexit or perhaps new loans quickly? Probably the dispute with the creditors will continue until autumn and probably it will end with elections." The article ends with the following remark: "Even if a solution is found to the financing problems of Greece, the public debate on its future lies in store. The fact that Athens would need a new support programme in the middle of the year should be considered as certain. "While the Chancellor perceives Greece’s remaining in the euro zone as a clear choice, it continues to be a tool for extortion and the Greeks know it," said a European diplomat. In this situation, many European Union member states hope that SYRIZA will collapse and there will be elections that will form a new and more cooperative government."