German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble says a deal between debt-racked Greece and its creditors won't be possible before its referendum on bailout terms as the Greek PM prepared to address the nation.
Athens has sent an "amended" proposal to creditors in the hope of staving off financial ruin, but Schaeuble said "before the referendum there is indeed no basis" to strike an agreement.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was set to address the nation on television on Wednesday, after submitting a new bailout deal proposal to the country's international creditors.
The government earlier Wednesday confirmed it had sent an "amended" proposal to the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund in the hope of sealing a deal to stave off financial ruin.
In angry comments after Greece crashed out of its EU aid program and defaulted on an IMF loan on Tuesday, Schaeuble accused the left-wing government of misleading the Greek people.
"They aren't doing any favours to their people if they keep misrepresenting the facts," he fumed on Wednesday. "It's not others who are to blame for their problems."
After months of frustrating talks, he accused the government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of making "incredibly untruthful claims that are not remotely related with reality".
Schaeuble also said Greece was sending mixed signals in debt talks and called on its government to "clarify its position" before negotiations with creditors can resume.
He pointed to recent conflicting reports on whether Athens still plans a referendum on Sunday on the bailout terms and whether it would support a yes or no vote, noting that "all of this is no basis for discussions on serious measures".
"That's why first of all Greece must clarify its position on what it wants, and then we will have to talk about it, under conditions that are now far more difficult," Schaeuble told a Berlin press conference.
Schaeuble pointed out that the proposal "to be rejected or accepted doesn't exist anymore and never existed" because the European offer in question was rejected by Athens last week and the aid program formally expired on Tuesday night.
Since the program ended at the stroke of midnight, "the legal and actual facts" had entirely changed, he said.
"We are ready for any eventuality, but we are in a really difficult situation," he said, blaming "entirely the behaviour of the Greek leaders, which is no longer comprehensible to anyone".
Meanwhile, the European Commission vice-president for the euro, Valdis Dombrovskis, said the eurozone can "weather" the effects of the debt crisis in Greece because of steps taken in recent years to make it stronger.
"Whatever the course of events in Greece take, I am convinced the EU Economic and Monetary Union will be able to weather them," the former Latvian prime minister told a news conference in Brussels.
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