By Jonathan Davies

The head of the euro finance ministers' group has warned the new Greek government over its plans to renegotiate its €240bn debt.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem said the newly elected Syriza party will struggle to find allies in its quest to reduce its huge debt, stressing Greece must "stick to the rules".

"There is very little support for a write off in Europe."

He added: "The most important thing is that if you remain in the eurozone you stick to the rules we have. That's true for all countries.

"There has been a lot of easing of the debt already. In the coming years the interest for Greece will be very low. They get a lot of time to pay back loans so the question is whether more has to be done there."

Mr Dijsselbloem's comments come after the Syriza party, whose leader Alexis Tsipras has pledged to renegotiate the terms of Greece's €240bn bailout debt, won the country's general election.

Syriza's pledge to reverse the austerity cuts and renegotiate its debt has led to speculation that Greece could ditch the euro and leave the European Union. Bookmakers William Hill slashed its odds on Greece being the first country to leave the eurozone from 1/2 to 1/5.

"If any country is ever going to quit the Eurozone you'd have to think that Greece is overwhelmingly the most likely to be that country," said William Hill spokesperson Graham Sharpe.

But Mr Tsipras said he was negotiation not confrontation with Europe.

"The new Greek government will be ready to co-operate and negotiate for the first time with our peers a just, mutually beneficial and viable solution," he said.

The European Central Bank, European Commission and International Monetary Fund imposed strict economic cuts and restructuring reforms as part of the huge bailout.

The euro briefly dropped to $1.1088, its lowest level against the US dollar for 11 years, before recovering to its pre-election level.

In addition to the effect on the euro, the election outcome had a dramatic effect on Greece's stock markets. Athens' main index fell by more than 4%, with banks and other financial firms the hardest hit.

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