Tsipras: IMF report vindicates Greek government position

The confusion surrounding Greece's referendum on the bailout conditions being demanded by the country's creditors escalated today as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras seized on a report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), one of country's main creditors, that called the debt being imposed on the country unsustainable.

The IMF conceded that Greece needs at least another €50bn to keep itself afloat for the next three years as well as large-scale debt relief, leading Tsipras to claim that the report is a vindication for the Greek government.

The report seems to represent a split within Greece's creditors, as eurozone leaders, to whom the country owes the most money, are opposed to debt relief. IMF chief, Christine Lagarde has continued to insist that Greece signs up for economic reform before receiving any debt relief.

It also recommended that the country be given a 20-year grace period before making any further repayments to its European creditors. Greece owes a total of €242bn to its creditors, according to a calculation by Reuters, based on official figures - a level of debt many economists see as untenable.

"Yesterday an event of major political importance happened," Tsipras said during a televised address on Greek national television earlier today. "The IMF published a report on Greece's economy, which is a great vindication for the Greek government as it conforms the obvious – that Greek debt is not sustainable."

The Greek leader made it clear that he believes it is futile to continue imposing harsh spending cuts on Greek citizens in order to pay back what he believes is an unsustainable debt. He urged voters to reject the "blackmail" and "the sirens of scaremongering" when they vote on Sunday.

The one certainty seemed to be that the vote would go ahead, after Greece's highest administrative court ruled today that the snap referendum, hastily announced by Tsipras last weekend, was legal and could go ahead.

A challenge filed by a lawyer and an engineer on Wednesday, argued that the referendum violated Greece's constitution which bans referendums on fiscal policy.

The Council of Europe has already said the vote lacks legitimacy because the poll was called at too short notice and the wording of the question is not clear enough. Normally, a period of at least two weeks would be required before putting such a vote to a nation.

Europe's top official in charge of the euro, Valdis Dombrovskis, has said the question being put to the Greek people is "neither factually nor legally correct".

Greeks are being asked to vote on whether they support the terms of further international loans. Current polls show that Greeks are split on the issue. A poll by the respected ALCO institute, published in the Ethnos newspaper today, put the 'Yes' camp at 44.8%, against 43.4% who would vote 'No'.

Four days of capital controls has brought the Greek economy to its knees and there are reports of food shortages on some of the Greek islands, according to Greek newspaper Kathimerini.

According to the European news site EurActiv, at least half a million Greeks will be unable to vote in the referendum, unless they return to the country before Sunday's poll, as there is no provision for them to vote while abroad.