Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has brought forward a planned meeting with his French counterpart, amid signs of widening differences between the new left-wing government in Athens and its international creditors.

A week after Alexis Tsipras swept into office as Greece’s youngest Prime Minister, his government faces growing resistance to its demands to renegotiate bailout arrangements with the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

Hoping to counter implacable opposition from Germany, Tsipras and Varoufakis begin a round of visits next week to London, Paris and Rome to seek backing in other European capitals with time running out before a February 28 deadline when Greece’s support programme expires.

Further debt cancellations are unacceptable and Athens have to respect its obligations- Angela Merkel

France and Italy, the two governments that have pushed hardest to loosen the strict budget austerity imposed at the start of the eurozone crisis, may offer Varoufakis and Tsipras a sympathetic ear when they visit.

But they have both said they would not accept the new left-wing government’s call for a “haircut”, writing down part of Greece’s €320 billion debt and potentially exposing their own Treasuries to billions of euros of losses.

Varoufakis told the head of the eurozone’s finance ministers’ group Jeroen Dijsselbloem on Friday that Athens did not want an extension to the bailout but a new accord and would not deal with monitors overseeing the bailout for the EU, European Central Bank and IMF “troika”.

Yesterday, he told the weekly Agora newspaper that Greece needs “fiscal breathing space” with a bridging deal of a few weeks while a new agreement with creditors is worked out and economic reforms including a crackdown on tax evasion begin.

With both sides keen to prevent tensions during the first few days of the Tsipras govern-ment slipping out of control, he warned against “verbal fetishism” and said the differences could be overcome.

While there was resistance in Europe to a straight haircut on the face value of the debt, there was more willingness to explore other options including extending maturities or cutting interest payments that could have the same effect.

“I’m not at all sure that the proposals they are making imply a smaller haircut than what we are proposing,” he said.

Highlighting the risks Athens faces if no deal is reached by the February 28 deadline, European Central Bank Governing Council member Erkki Liikanen said Greek banks, already facing serious deposit outflows, would be cut off from ECB lending.

As well as ensuring continued ECB support for the banks, agreement is needed for some €7 billion in funds to be released.

Without the funds, Greece would probably be unable to meet €10 billion in debt repayments that fall due between June and September.

However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel repeated that further debt cancellations were unacceptable and Athens would have to respect its obligations.

Varoufakis said Greece would continue to issue new short-term T-Bills while talks proceed, even though Athens has already reached a €15 billion issuance limit agreed with the troika.

But that would do little to prevent the crisis that could ensue if the banks lost support from the ECB and the issue is likely to feature heavily in discussions next week. With financial markets on edge, Greek banking stocks have fallen by nearly 40 per cent since Sunday’s elections.

Following his Finance Minister’s visit to Paris today and to London tomorrow, Tsipras himself will visit Rome on Tuesday to meet Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Paris on Wednesday, where he will meet President Francois Hollande.

Notably absent from the list of destinations was Berlin or Frankfurt, although Varoufakis told Agora he looked forward to meeting his German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble in the future.

In its first four days in office, the government has announced plans to reinstate thousands of public sector workers laid off under the last government and increase some pensions.

It has also halted asset sales agreed under the bailout at what it says were “fire sale” prices and sacked the heads of the state privatisation agency although Varoufakis said the government was keen to attract productive foreign investment.

Asked about whether the government would bring up the issue of Yannis Stournaras, the Bank of Greece Governor with whom Syriza has had tense relations in the past, he said: “Of course not. This is not an issue for the Greek government.”