Athens, January 12 (RHC)-- The leader of Greece's left-wing Syriza party says Athens will stay in the eurozone if his party wins this month's general election, stressing that he will fight austerity measures. "It's clear from any point of view that the subject of Greece leaving the euro simply does not exist," Alexis Tsipras told Greek weekly Realnews on Sunday.

There have been fears in the global markets over the victory of Syriza in the parliamentary election on January 25th, and Athens' abandoning of the euro. Syriza has pledged to end austerity policies and reverse many reforms, including cutting taxes and increasing state aid and public services, imposed by the so-called troika of the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank.

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras had warned last month that the country may be forced out of the eurozone if the anti-austerity Syriza wins the poll. But Tsipras said the idea of Greece quitting the eurozone dates back to the height of the country's financial crisis in 2012 which led to a 240-billion-euro ($282 billion) international bailout.

Greece has been relying on international rescue loans since 2010. In exchange, Athens has implemented harsh austerity measures. Greeks have lost about a third of their disposable income since the debt crisis erupted in 2009. The unemployment rate has also soared, leaving about one in four without a job.