ECB cancels soft treatment of Greek debt in warning to Athens  John O'Donnell and Jan Strupczewski

(Reuters) - The European Central Bank abruptly canceled its acceptance of Greek bonds in return for funding on Wednesday, shifting the burden onto Athens' central bank to finance its lenders and isolating Greece unless it strikes a new reform deal.

The move, which means the Greek central bank will have to provide its banks with tens of billions of euros of additional emergency liquidity in the coming weeks, was a response to what many in Frankfurt see as the Greek government's abandoning of its aid-for-reform program.

The decision came just hours after Greece's new finance minister Yanis Varoufakis emerged from a meeting with ECB President Mario Draghi to claim that the ECB would do "whatever it takes" to support member states such as Greece.

I can only hope that Greece imposes capital controls or extends closure of the banks on Tuesday. Greece could remain on the Euro, but obviously could not service its bond debt. Athens should contest this move with the appropriate European legal authorities. Draghi just answered the question of whether the ECB would play hardball politics with the currency.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."