Greece will repay its debts to the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund and reach a deal “soon” with the euro-area nations that funded most of the country’s financial rescue, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in a statement to Bloomberg News on January 31.

The deliberation with our European partners has just begun,” Tsipras said. “Despite the fact that there are differences in perspective, I am absolutely confident that we will soon manage to reach a mutually beneficial agreement, both for Greece and for Europe as a whole.”

The premier heads to Cyprus today on his first official state visit as Greece’s prime minister. He will meet with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, opposition AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou and other party leaders, and is also scheduled to address the Cyprus House of Representatives. Tomorrow, Tsipras visits Rome to meet with his counterpart Matteo Renzi; on February 4, he will travel to Brussels to meet with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and then to Paris following an invitation by French President Francois Hollande.

In related news, when asked whether he agreed with new Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras that "austerity is not effective," American President Barack Obama said in an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria that you cannot continue to pressure countries in recession - at some point there must be a strategy of growth in order for these countries to be able to repay their debts and reduce some of their deficits. When the economy is in freefall, you need a strategy of growth, not just pressuring a population that is suffering more and more, Obama said.

See also CNN interview: Obama on austerity programs [Video, 31.01.2015]