VAROUFAKIS CONFIRMS: Greece will not pay the IMF today

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis

(REUTERS/Charles Platiau)

Greece's finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has made it official: Greece will miss its payment to the IMF on Tuesday.

According to Reuters, Varoufakis said "No" when asked if Greece will make the debt installment of 1.6 billion euros due to the IMF.

On Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that a Greek government official indicated that the payment will be missed, which was not unexpected.

Varoufakis is still holding out for a last minute deal with Greece's creditors, according to the report.

This missed payment is just the beginning of other major financial and political challenges down the road for Greece.

The payment is due on the same day that Greece’s bailout program expires. On Monday, Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras said Greece will not be kicked out of the eurozone "because the cost is immense."

Banks remain closed around Greece to contain a potential shortfall in the absence of extra emergency liquidity assistance from the European Central Bank.

On Sunday, Greeks will vote in referendum to decide whether the government should accept the terms of a new bailout program.

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