Popular Unity leader Lafazanis concludes unsuccessful bid to form government, informs president (ADDS)

In statements he stressed that the president's job was to protect the letter and spirit of the Constitution and especially the ability of the Greek people to vote freely and be fully informed.

"It is a provocation to rush to elections," he added, noting that the time periods foreseen by the Constitution must be fully exhausted and that elections must not be held earlier than September 27.

"It is the president's responsibility to rise to this democratic challenge. He will be responsible if he does not and - if he does not - we will be forced to make statements that we would not like to make," Lafazanis said.

Earlier, responding to Lafazanis' demands, the president agreed that "no state official was above the Constitution" and assured him that both the letter and spirit of the Constitution will be observed, "especially in accordance to the generally established practice, mutatis mutandis given the current circumstances."

He assured Lafazanis that he will fully observe the relevant Constitutional articles and inform him over the phone.

"I would like to believe that, regardless of the result of these processes that I will follow and when we reach elections, these will take place in an atmosphere that befits Greece's political culture, the crucial nature of events and the expectations of the Greek people," the president said.

Replying, Lafazanis noted that the "greatest deviations, unconstitutional and anti-democratic, are committed in the name of observing the Constitution and democracy." He insisted on the need for a political party leaders' council, noting that "the Constitution does not refer to telephone calls."

"The Constitution speaks of a meeting of state factors in person. If all this were to be replaced by the telephone, I think we would be making a big mistake," he added.