Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras gestures as he leads the first cabinet meeting of his new government in Athens, Friday, Sept. 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece’s newly re-elected prime minister is pledging to fast-track negotiations with the country’s bailout creditors, with a view to bringing the country out of its debilitating financial crisis by 2019.
Alexis Tsipras told his first Cabinet meeting Friday that by the end of his four-year mandate he also hopes to have extracted Greece from strict supervision by creditors.
He said his first, urgent priority will be to launch talks on reducing the country’s crippling debt burden and boost the country’s battered banking system.
Tsipras, 41, heads a left-led coalition following last Sunday’s election.
He called the snap polls seven months into his first mandate, after hardline left-wingers in his Syriza party rebelled against a policy U-turn that saw Greece signing a third international bailout — accompanied by new austerity measures.
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Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras gestures as he leads the first cabinet meeting of his new government in Athens, Friday, Sept. 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis) 
