The leader of an anti-bailout party leading opinion polls in Greece has called for a delay in the repayment of rescue loans until the country emerges from its major recession, which is heading into a sixth year.

Alexis Tsipras, leader of the main opposition Radical Left Coalition Party, argued austerity policies pursued by the three-party coalition government would continue to weaken Greece's economy and leave the country more reliant on emergency loans from other eurozone states and the International Monetary Fund.

Tsipras made the comments Tuesday at a financial conference.

Greece last week won an improvement in the terms of its bailout loans and debt reduction plan. On Monday, it launched a bond buyback program aimed at trimming its debt load to a more sustainable level.