Greek president confers with Draghi, Hollande ahead of memorandum vote

Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos  on Wednesday spoke by phone with both European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and French President Francois Hollande ahead of a crucial vote in Greece’s Parliament for the third bailout memorandum between Athens and its international creditors.

Pavlopoulos, who was elected by a Parliament majority, said taken a more prominent role recently in promoting an agreement with creditors and repeatedly backing Greece’s European

In a related development, government sources on Wednesday said that European Parliament President Martin Schulz told Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras that he will publicly call on the German government, the Bundestag and the SPD party, from where he hails, to approve of the agreement between Greece and its creditors.

The development came after a statement by Gianni Pittella, the head of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) in the European Parliament, who urged German Chancellor Angela Merkel not to undermine the deal.