THESSALONIKI — The recession in Greece preceded the coronavirus pandemic and is due to the policy of the New Democracy government, said SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras on Thursday, speaking during a meeting with production representatives in Thessaloniki.

Concerns over the real magnitude of the current recession become even higher if one considers New Democracy policies in the period 2012-2015, he stressed.

Referring to the relief measures for businesses announced recently by the government, he said these should have been "more generous" towards small and-medium-sized businesses.

He also presented some key aspects of SYRIZA's 'We Stand Up' (Menoume Orthioi) program for business subsidies, government-guaranteed loans, employment subsidies, as opposed to the government's policy of suspending labor contracts and cutting some taxes, he added.

On their part, production representatives told Tsipras that liquidity is their most predominant issue.