"It is clear that the stand-off between Greece and the eurozone is the greatest risk to the global economy," warns UK Chancellor George Osborne adding that he hopes Greece's new finance minister "acts responsibly," as Varoufakis toured Europe to discuss Greece's 'demands'. Mainstream media's attention [7], however, is not focused on this warning (remember, Greece is small and contained is the meme to pay attention to), but instead proclaimed Greece's pivot to Russia over when in fact, Tsipras words did anything but 'rule out' Russian aid as he said - specifically - "we are in substantial negotiations with our partners in Europe and those that have lent to us," adding that with regards Russia, "right now, there are no other thoughts on the table." Hardly the definitive "ruling out" that US media spins.
As Reuters reports, [7]Varoufakis also met British officials, seeking more European allies, although Britain is not a member of the euro zone.
"It is clear that the stand-off between Greece and the euro zone is the greatest risk to the global economy," Britain's finance minister, George Osborne, said after their meeting.
"I urge the Greek finance minister to act responsibly but it's also important that the euro zone has a better plan for jobs and growth," Osborne said.
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And this follows France's "support for debt renegotiation" and Germany's dismissal of any changes to the current plan:
It has so far met a tough line from European partners, above all from Germany. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told Reuters in an interview on Monday that Berlin would not accept any unilateral changes to Greece's debt program.
"We want Greece to continue going down this successful path in the interests of Greece and the Greeks but we will not accept one-sided changes to the program," he said at the Reuters Euro Zone Summit.
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But it is the US media spin of the Russian pivot that is notable...
Here is Reuters' headline...
[8]
And here is what Tsipras actually said...
"We are in substantial negotiations with our partners in Europe and those that have lent to us. We have obligations towards them," Tsipras said at a news conference in Cyprus during his first foreign visit as prime minister.
"Right now, there are no other thoughts on the table," he said, when asked whether Greece would seek aid from Russia, which has suggested it could be willing to listen to a request for support from Athens.
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Hardly the definitive ruling out of Russian aid that the headline proclaims.
