Venizelos differentiates himself from Papandreou - says he knew nothing about the referendum

Evangelos Venizelos, the Greek Finance minister and vice president of the government, says he knew nothing of the premier’s intentions to call a referendum and differentiates himself from Papandreou’s stance.

Sources say that he got to know about it when the premier announced it in parliament early on Monday evening. Before publicly announcing it, he should have first let the EU partners and the Troika know, said Venizelos to Papandreou.

Until now, no one knows the extent their disagreement has reached. For the moment, it has been decided that Venizelos will send a letter to the Eurozone leaders explaining the situation. From the hospital where he was rushed in the early hours of Tuesday, the Greek Finance minister contacted Wolfgang Schauble, Ollie Rehn, Paul Thomsen and Joseph Akermann in an effort to safeguard the disbursement of the 6th tranche.