Tusk urges EU to avoid 'dramatic messages' on Greece vote

EU president Donald Tusk urged the bloc to avoid sending any "dramatic messages" even if the Greeks were to vote against bailout conditions in their weekend referendum, AFP reports.

"The space for negotiation will be smaller, obviously" if a no vote prevailed, Tusk told the European edition of Politico.

But he added that "for sure we don’t need any dramatic messages after a 'No' vote."

"The main aim for us is to keep the eurozone united," he said, adding that the "first goal is to rebuild trust in Greece". 

Tusk, in a far more conciliatory tone than European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, stressed that "the referendum is not... about being in the eurozone or not.

"No, in fact, nobody's interested -- I hope nobody's interested -- in this kind of choice," said Tusk.

Juncker, along with the leaders of Germany, France and Italy have all said a 'No' vote would be a vote against Greece's place in the euro, and maybe even in the European Union.