Europe without Greece Joke

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias on Monday ruled out his country's exit from the EU and called for calm after Greek voters rejected bailout terms of international creditors.

"Europe without Greece? It's a joke," the visiting foreign minister told Israel's private Channel 2 television.

"We have to be careful after this victory. We have to calm down and continue the negotiations in order to make a good compromise," he said of Sunday's referendum in which his government supported a "no" vote.

In the wake of the vote, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday the door was open for a return to debt negotiations with Greece, but called on Athens to make "serious" proposals.

Kotzias earlier met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before travelling on to the West Bank for talks with Palestinian Authority leaders.

His visit, the first by a member of the current Greek government, is due to end on Tuesday.
Source: AFP