German official weighs in against European debt purchases

In an interview published Sunday, the president of the German central bank said he remained firmly opposed to government bond purchases by the European Central Bank, a position that could make it more difficult to deploy a weapon many economists believed was essential to save the euro.

However, in what analysts believe may be a softening of her stance, German chancellor Angela Merkel told members of her governing coalition to stop talking about Greece leaving the euro.

''We are in a decisive phase in the battle against the euro zone debt crisis,'' Merkel told ARD television.

''Everyone should weigh their words very carefully.''

According to analysts the comments come as another sign that Merkel was moving away from hard-liners like her former economic adviser, Jens Weidmann, who is now president of the Bundesbank, Germany's central bank.

In an interview with the weekly newsmagazine Der Spiegel Weidmann said bond purchases by the European Central Bank would be equivalent to printing money to finance governments and he was opposed to the approach.