A firm "No" in Sunday's referendum to the creditors' offer for a debt agreement aimed at the achievement of a better deal, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Wednesday in a televised address to the nation. The Leftist leader rejected the interpretation that "No" leads to Grexit and allegations that his government has a secret agenda to push Greece outside the European common currency zone.

"No is not a rift and departure from Europe but a return to European values... Democracy is not a coup d'etat," Tsipras said, stressing that Greece remains at the negotiating table.

Athens has received an improved proposal by lenders this week after his surprise call for the referendum last Saturday and dialogue has resumed, he noted.

A new emergency Eurogroup teleconference was about to start to discuss the latest Greek proposal for a two-year deal with European partners without the International Monetary Fund on board.

"If the outcome will be positive, we will respond," he said.

In the early hours of Wednesday after Athens missed a repayment of a loan installment IMF declared Greece in arrears status, concern over a looming credit event and subsequent Grexit skyrocketed.

In particular since the country does no longer have also from Tuesday midnight the safety net of the five-year bailout that expired.

Tsipras argued that the responsibility of the introduction of capital controls and banks closure since Monday lies with creditors who "try to blackmail" Greeks into voting "Yes" to an "unacceptable" deal.

He called on Greek citizens not to become Yes Men and "become accomplices to the continuation of the memoranda," assuring them that the current difficulties are temporary and that deposits, pensions and salaries will not be lost.