Greek Prime Minister Has Announced His Resignation

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has announced that he has decided to resign while calling for snap elections — expected to be held in late September.

Addressing the country on state TV, Tsipras said he was proud of what he and his Syriza-led government had done since they came to power in January this year. "Europe is no longer the same," he stated.

Tsipras said they managed to improve the conditions of the bailout.

"If the people had not been as decisive the creditors would have led us into disaster," he said. "This decisiveness gave us power to fight. To fight the difficult demands of the creditors."

Rumors of the prime minister's resignation emerged earlier on Thursday. "We know for sure that we will have elections on the 20th," one government minister reportedly said. "He is going to resign today."

Tsipras' left-wing Syriza party was elected in January. His government initially promised freedom from austerity politics and embarked upon a series of plays against the European Union that culminated in a dramatic referendum in July. The escalating financial crisis in Greece led to the country eventually giving in, however, and agreeing to a new round of cuts and a third bailout.

The resulting austerity bill led to a [r](http://The resulting austerity bill caused a split in the ruling Syriza party, along with several resignations)[upture](http://The resulting austerity bill caused a split in the ruling Syriza party, along with several resignations) in the ruling Syriza party, along with several resignations and public criticisms of Tsipras' leadership.

"I will not run away from my responsibilities," the prime minister said in July, in response to the dissent.

Earlier on Thursday, Energy Minister Panos Skourletis said on state TV that he felt elections were needed to address the split in Syriza. "The political landscape must be cleared up. We need to know whether the government has or doesn't have a majority," he said.

Related: A German Company Will Control 14 Greek Airports as Bailout Conditions Force Privatization

Greece's third bailout of its huge debts was approved by German and Dutch parliamentarians on Wednesday.

This week has also seen the Syriza-led government make move further towards their first privatization deal, which will see 14 of the country's regional airports put under the control of German company Fraport.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank (ECB) confirmed that Athens had repaid 3.2 billion euros ($3.58 billion) worth of bonds that were due by Thursday.

The ECB confirms that all Greek government bonds maturing today and owed to the ECB and Eurosystem NCBs have been repaid by Greece

— ECB (@ecb)August 20, 2015

The first major review of Greece's new bailout is set to take place in October.

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