Greece's course in Europe and within the eurozone is a "national one-way road" and not just for economic reasons but for reasons of national security, President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos said yesterday, receiving the head of the Hellenic Bank Association Louka Katseli. He added that the course toward the referendum on Sunday (5.07) must not be permitted to disrupt the essential unity of the Greek people. "Referendums, which are an institution of direct democracy, serve democracy only when they are conducted under conditions that do not allow any division," he said.

Katseli assured the President that banks will do their utmost to respond to the needs of their customers, within the limitations of the capital controls imposed, including pensioners as well as companies trying to make payments.

Pavlopoulos postponed a scheduled visit to Germany on July 7 due to developments in Greece following the closure of banks and ahead of the referendum. Pavlopoulos reassured his German counterpart Joachim Gauck that he was doing everything in his power to safeguard Greece’s position within the eurozone and the EU.