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Hollande warns entering 'unknown' territory if Greece votes 'No'

Hollande warns entering 'unknown' territory if Greece votes 'No'

By Agence France Presse

French President Francois Hollande delivers a speech to parliamentarians and institutions' representatives in Cotonou on July 2, 2015. Hollande is on two-day African tour to Benin, Angola and Cameroon. Photo: AFP

COTONOU: French President Francois Hollande warned Thursday that Europe would be entering 'unknown' territory if Greeks voted against tough austerity conditions attached to a bailout in a make-or-break referendum. 'If the 'No' wins we're entering into the unknown. It's up to the Greeks,' he told reporters on a trip to Benin, the first leg of a whistlestop African tour that will also take him to Angola and Cameroon. 'If it's 'Yes'... negotiations can very easily begin and a deal I believe will be reached very quickly.' Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has urged people to vote against the latest bailout deal offered by European governments, the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund, slamming their conditions as 'humiliating'. And although Athens insists Sunday's referendum is just about the conditions attached to the bailout that expired this week, EU leaders say it is actually a vote on whether Greece wants to remain in the euro.