German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said on Monday Greece's leader Alexis Tsipras would have to "find a different way" to solve Greece's problems if he says he does not want money from the euro zone bailout program.
According to an advance excerpt of an interview to be broadcast on ZDF television on Monday, Schaeuble said the euro zone's rescue programs have until now only gone to governments that requested them.
"We'll have to see what the new government is planning," Schaeuble told ZDF, after Tsipras was sworn in on Monday as the prime minister of a new hardline, anti-bailout government determined to face down international lenders and end nearly five years of tough economic measures.
"And if it wants something from us, then it'll get in touch with us," added Schaeuble, who last month warned Greece against straying from a path of economic reform. He had said any new government would be held to the prior pledges.
"No one got a bailout who didn't want it," Schaeuble told ZDF on Monday. "And if Mr. Tsipras says he doesn't want to have it, then that's very good, then he will have to find another way to resolve Greece's problems."
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