REUTERS/Alkis KonstantinidisGreek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis in Athens, Greece, on June 11.

Yanis Varoufakis, Greeces embattled finance minister, told Bloomberg TV on Thursday that he would step down from his role if the Greek people voted yes in Sundays bailout referendum.

The government is pushing for a no vote — which would reject a bailout deal that Greek leaders earlier negotiated with creditors but do not think is acceptable.

Greece is in a state of crisis, with shuttered banks and limits on how much people can withdraw from cash machines. A no vote could push the country out of the eurozone entirely.

Heres the key quote from Varoufakis interview: If theres a yes vote then we will sign the agreement. We may have to reconfigure the government because some of us will not be able to stomach it. I will not sign another extend and pretend deal. But I will not scupper it.

Asked directly whether he would be finance minister in the event of a yes vote, Varoufakis said: I will not. But I will help whoever is. Theres no sense in speculating now.

But Varoufakis said he wouldnt leave Greece and would remain in Parliament whatever happens. Varoufakis was an academic at the University of Texas before joining the Greek government earlier this year.

Varoufakis would not say whether Alexis Tsipras would remain prime minister if the ruling Syriza partys goals are not met in Sundays vote, saying: When you go to battle, you don’t talk about defeat. We are going to win on Monday, when the result will be announced.

He added: Syriza is going to be the major force in Greek politics whatever happens, and were going to make sure this country is given the proper chance it deserves to become a first-class not second-class nation.

REUTERS/Marko DjuricaVaroufakis talking to the media while leaving the Finance Ministry building on his motorbike in Athens on Wednesday.

He was pretty unequivocal about not wanting to sign another extend and pretend deal, as he called it. Asked whether he would sign up to a proposal that didnt include restructuring Greeces debts, Varoufakis said: I prefer to cut my arm off.

Debt restructuring is something the Syriza government wants but much of the rest of Europe has refused so far.

Varoufakis echoed Tsipras comments on Wednesday that Sundays referendum was not a vote on whether Greece should stay in the euro.

He said: If you were asking me if you want Greece in the euro, I would say absolutely yes. The referendum isnt about staying in the euro; its about how we do that.

You can watch the full interview here.

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