Putin, Hollande discuss results of Greek referendum

Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Francois Hollande of France had a telephone conversation, in the course of which they discussed the results of Sunday's referendum in Greece, the Kremlin press service said.

"The two Presidents discussed the results of the referendum in Greece, including from the point of view of further development of the situation in the eurozone," the press service said in a report.

A total of 61.31% Greek citizens who came to the polls on Sunday voted against the terms of the agreement with creditors on settling the country's sovereign debt.

The government put up only one question for the referendum, namely, whether it was to accept or to reject the draft agreement authored by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund and made public at a session of the Eurogroup of finance ministers on June 25.

The document consisted of two parts, which specified the reforms necessary for completion of the current programme and contained preliminary analysis of stability of the debt.

Judging from the outcome of Sunday's voting, the rank-and-file Greeks are discontent with the position of international creditors. Along with it, the majority of Greeks say in opinion polls and interviews they remain in favor of Greece's continued inclusion in the eurozone.

The Greeks have spoken out against the harsh austerity measures, which presuppose a new downsizing of pensions and and salaries and they would like to see the signing of an agreement on the basis of compromise proposals made by Greece where focus shifts to the opportunities of economic growth and debt restructuring.

The EU and the IMF have allocated almost 250 billion euro since 2010 when the crisis of sovereign debt began in Greece. The Athens government is to return the money gradually.

Although a part of the country's debt was written off in 2012, its current debt exceeds 315 billion euro at present, standing at 175% of its GDP thrice as much as the level admissible of a country within the eurozone, which is expected to be below 60% of the GDP.