Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announces resignation and calls fresh elections

Seeking approval: Mr Tsipras will stand again in fresh elections
reuters
Sebastian Mann21 August 2015

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has announced he is resigning and will be calling early elections.

The leftist politician will officially tender his resignation tonight, putting Greece in the hands of a caretaker government, before standing again in fresh elections next month.

Mr Tsipras has faced resistance within his party, the hard-left Syriza, for agreeing a new bailout deal with international creditors.

Today marked Greece's receipt of the first tranche of finance amounting to €13 billion (£9 billion) - agreed under terms that see the country forced to adopt austerity measures many in his party opposed.

In a television address on Thursday, he said that now that the country had secured its funding, he felt a "deep moral" obligation to lay his actions before the judgment of the Greek people.

Additional reporting by PA

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