Tsipras Demands Meet Cold Shoulder From Berlin to Lisbon

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras faced widespread opposition from euro-area governments to his key demand for a debt writedown, with many policy makers holding out only an existing pledge to grant easier repayment terms.

Governments from Berlin to Lisbon rejected Tsipras’s central request, saying they believed that conditions on bailout loans are already favorable. Greece retreated from its call late on Monday, with Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis outlining plans in a meeting with financiers in London to exchange existing borrowings for new bonds linked to growth.