No Dra(h)ma: Greek Government Denies Claims of Return to National Currency

Earlier in the day, Haris Theoharis, a parliamentarian of the Greek centrist opposition party To Potami, claimed that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' office had created a working group to facilitate the transition to the drachma.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Claims that the Greek government is working on the return of the drachma, the country's national currency replaced by the euro in 2001, are false, government spokesperson Gavriil Sakellaridis said Tuesday.

"Today's statement by Mr Theoharis, other than a science-fiction scenario, is also monumental irresponsibility. Especially so coming from the representative of a party that likes to preach responsibility," Sakellaridis was quoted by Greece’s Ekathimerini newspaper as saying.

The refusal of Greece to pay down its debt to international creditors, amounting to some $350 billion, has sparked fears of the nation's possible withdrawal from the eurozone.

January's victory of the country's left-wing anti-austerity Syriza party and government's failure to reach agreement with international creditors on the bailout program expiring Tuesday midnight have fueled speculation that Greece will be forced to leave the eurozone.