Die Linke's Gysi accuses German gov't of seeking to remove Greece's leftist government

He also defended the timing of the referendum called by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, saying he "was given no other choice," after the ultimatum presented by the lenders.

Gysi called on German Chancellor Angela Merkel to find a solution, even at the last minute, and go down in history as the saviour and not the destroyer of Europe.

Speaking during a special session on Greece, Gysi said that the course adopted by Germany's government and the troika had failed, while the bailout was for the banks and not the citizens or the countries supposedly being bailed out.

He urged the German Chancellor to consider that a Greek exit from the euro could cause a chain reaction in the the rest of the eurozone.