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Greek PM leaves referendum option open, rules out elections

ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday said he may have to resort to a referendum if the government is only offered a deal from lenders that it cannot accept, but added that he was certain that such a scenario could be avoided. Tsipras ruled out snap elections, however, saying the government had only been voted in a few months ago. He said the government did not have the authority to accept demands from lenders that fell outside the limits of its mandate to end austerity cuts, and would have to ask Greeks to decide. "If the solution falls outside our mandate, I will not have the right to violate it, so the solution to which we will come to will have to be approved by the Greek people," Tsipras told Star television in an interview. "But I am certain we will not reach that point. Despite the difficulties, the possibilities to win in the negotiations are large. We should not give in to panic moves. Whoever gets scared in this game loses." (Reporting by Renee Maltezou and George Georgiopoulos, Writing by Deepa Babington)