“If I find myself in the difficult position of an agreement which falls outside our mandate, then the Greek people will have to give the answer,” he said, adding, however, that “I am certain we will not reach that point.”

He ruled out calling for an early general election. “Obviously I’m not going to go to elections,” he added. “What for?”

Image Yianis Varoufakis, the Greek finance minister, in Athens on Tuesday. Greece announced a shake-up of its bailout negotiators. Credit... Louisa Gouliamaki/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Underlining that his government’s mission was to “stop the vicious circle of austerity, misery and looting,” Mr. Tsipras repeated his opposition to more pension cuts and mass dismissals in the labor market.

He said, however, that an unpopular property tax, which his Syriza party had promised to abolish, might have to stay in place until 2016 because of budgetary constraints. He also appeared more flexible on the sale and lease of state assets, suggesting that port and airport deals could proceed.

In a bid to scrape together the cash to cover domestic commitments and debt obligations, the government passed a decree last week obliging state entities to hand over their spare cash. The move has raised some money, but it remains unclear whether it is enough to cover looming repayments as the country’s mayors and university academics, among others, push back against the measure.

Officials of the new negotiating team, being coordinated by Mr. Tsakalotos, started work late Monday on drafting legislation that, it is hoped, will win over creditors. The bill is to include “fiscal issues, tax administration, the auction of frequencies for TV channels, taxation of TV commercials and administrative reform,” according to the Finance Ministry.