Government will not 'spring' elections, gov't spokeswoman says

She said that the negotiations between the Greek government and the institutions on a new bailout for Greece were scheduled to conclude on August 18, at which time the final agreement will be brought to Parliament for ratification.

Gerovasili also announced that the government has sent a letter to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) requesting assistance.

Asked about the IMF's formal demand that its staff be allowed to visit ministries and talk to ministers, Gerovasili said that this "technical obstacle" was being discussed, while the Greek side had proposed that the talks be held with the Greek team's lead negotiator George Chouliarakis and staff at the General Accounting Office.

On the internal strife within SYRIZA, Gerovasili said she understood the difficult dilemmas facing MPs but stressed that there were specific dates and specific votes when all involved will have to take responsibility for what they decide.

"We can't leave everything until later. However the open collective processes of SYRIZA, those foreseen and that correspond to the tone and morality of the Left, are probably best left for later," she added. She did not, however, entirely rule out the possibility of holding such discussions ahead of the crucial vote.

She admitted that the stance adopted by former minister Panagiotis Lafazanis was a "political issue".

"There are two different plans with two different strategies cohabiting in one political organisation," she pointed out. While these differences had to some extent existed before, she added, it became a problem when in government and called to implement a policy.

One way forward out of the impasse, she noted, was to agree that implementing measures that the government disagreed with was a necessity and an obligation, then look for ways to less their impact as much as possible.

Asked whether Parliament President Zoi Konstantopoulou would be presiding when the final agreement negotiated with Greece's lenders came to Parliament, Gerovasili replied "obviously" and said it would be up to Konstantopoulou to decide whether she would preside over that session.