Spain hits back at Greek prime minister's conspiracy claim

Spain's centre-right Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy hit back yesterday against accusations from Greece's leftist premier that Spain and Portugal had led a conservative conspiracy to topple his anti-austerity government.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Spain and Portugal had taken a hard line in talks on the euro zone extending the Greek bailout programme because they feared the rise of the left in their own countries.

Greeks have directed much of their fury about years of austerity dictated by international creditors at Germany, the biggest contributor to their country's €240 billion (HK$2.08 trillion) bailout.

But in a speech on Saturday to his Syriza party, which won an election on January 25, Tsipras turned on Madrid and Lisbon, accusing them of attempting to sabotage the negotiations for political reasons.

"Their plan was and is to wear down, topple or bring our government to unconditional surrender before our work begins to bear fruit and before the Greek example affects other countries," he said, adding: "And mainly before the election in Spain."

Rajoy said Spain had shown solidarity with Greece as part of the euro zone by helping with its bailout and urged Greece to fulfil its obligations and keep its promises.

"We are not responsible for the frustration generated by the radical Greek left that promised the Greeks something it couldn't deliver on," he said.