Greek crisis talks: As they happened

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Key Points

  1. Eurozone finance ministers turn down request by Greek government to extend bailout programme, due to end on Tuesday
  2. Greek PM Alexis Tsipras calls referendum on 5 July, asking Greek people to reject terms of international creditors
  3. Greece faces €1.5bn debt repayment to International Monetary Fund on 30 June
  4. Failure to pay would push Greece towards default

Live Reporting

By Paul Kirby & Patrick Jackson
All times stated are UK

Final update

That completes our live updates on the Greek debt crisis. Debate continues in the Greek parliament on the prime minister's surprise proposal for a referendum. But now that eurozone finance ministers have rejected a request for the bailout programme to be extended beyond Tuesday's deadline, Greece is facing default on a debt repayment to the IMF. The ECB will consider whether to continue propping up Greece's banks on Sunday.
Michel Sapin (C) with Eurogroup colleages
AP
Mr Sapin earlier agreed with Eurozone colleagues to turn down a Greek request to extend the bailout programme to cover a 5 July referendum
French Finance Minister Michel Sapin
Reuters
French Finance Minister Michel Sapin outlines his proposal to act as a go-between

French offer

More on French Finance Minister Michel Sapin, who has proposed acting as a mediator to find a last-ditch deal between Greece and its creditors. "France is available today, tomorrow, the day after, as from the start, to be a go-between to find an agreement that is solid,'' he said.

Scene in central Athens

Joe Miller, BBC News Athens
The streets are pretty subdued in central Athens - unusually for a Saturday summer night in the Greek capital. Few people are out and queues outside some cash machines continue. There are small signs of an increased police presence. We saw them stocking up on supplies, preparing to spend the night around Syntagma Square. 

Greek banks

Greek deputy PM Yanis Dragasakis tweets after meeting with European Central Bank President Mario Draghi that the government will work closely with the ECB and Greek central bank to ensure "stability of the country's banking system".

Greek ex-PM steps up opposition

Antonis Samaras, who was prime minister until January, will have talks with Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos on Sunday. Mr Samaras has accused his successor as PM of setting Greece on a collision course with the EU. Mr Pavlopoulos is a former conservative minister, but he was nominated by Mr Tsipras in February. 
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble (R)
AP
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said none of his colleagues saw any possible ways of resolving the impasse

Will Tsipras win referendum?

Opposition parties are trying to present a united front against Mr Tsipras's Syriza-led government, accusing him of opting to leave the euro. A majority of Greeks want to stay in the single currency and a poll for Greek newspaper Proto Thema suggests 57% of voters would prefer a deal with international creditors to a split.

French dissension?

Unconfirmed reports from Brussels suggest France's Finance Minister Michel Sapin backed the extension of Greece's bailout programme to cover the referendum, but he was overruled by the other 17 finance ministers in the room. Mr Varoufakis appeared to confirm that in his press conference, referring to his "friend", Mr Sapin.
Greek PM Alexis Tsipras
EPA
Greek PM Alexis Tsipras took part in a parliament debate after announcing the surprise referendum last night

European Central Bank to meet

Governing Council of ECB to meet on Greece "in due course". The Frankfurt-based bank is propping up Greek banks with an emergency cash assistance fund of €89bn but has to decide whether that should continue. Read Robert Peston's blog on this major decision facing the eurozone's central bank.

To recap

Eurozone finance ministers have rejected a Greek request to extend the EU's bailout programme beyond Tuesday. Without funding, Greece will default on a €1.5bn debt repayment to the IMF. Ministers accused Greek PM Alexis Tsipras of unilaterally breaking off talks , as he announced a referendum for 5 July. 

'We weren't told'

Gavin Lee, Europe Reporter, BBC News
Eurozone officials tell me they weren't officially informed of Greece's decision to hold a referendum and only found out via Twitter last night, as technical talks continued and "the Greek delegation left the room".
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