Italy's finance minister says that only Italy, France and Cyprus supported a compromise deal with Greece, while the rest of the eurozone nations fell in behind Germany's hard-line position.

Pier Carlo Padoan says in an interview published Tuesday in daily Il Sole 24 Ore that he was surprised by how many countries fell in behind Germany, and that "in the end, only we, the French and little Cyprus were for a compromise."

Greece on Monday agreed on a preliminary rescue deal with its fellow eurozone partners. Before it can get loans, it has to implement a string of tough economic measures.

Padoan says, "we avoided the worst. But from today a very complex path, whose outcome can't be taken for granted."

[AP]