Moscow, Nicosia may resume talks on extension of Russian loan

The Russian-Cyprus talks on loan rescheduling may be resumed immediately after the voting in the Cyprus parliament on the package of measures to help Cyprus get the financial aid from the European Union, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told reporters here on Monday. “We follow the situation and its developments. We are not indifferent to what decisions may be made. Our actions depend on the results of the Troika talks and the decisions of the Cyprus parliament. The implementation of the proposal we made (the extension of the Russian loan for five years and the lowering of the interest from 4.5 to 2.5 percent) amounts to writing off ten percent of the debt under the loan. Pretty good support to the Cyprus side; and we will, naturally, make decisions, taking into consideration the proposals of the Cyprus side and the Troika. I believe the talks of Russia and Cyprus may be resumed immediately after the voting in the Cyprus parliament,” Siluanov said. He also said Russia is interested in the early resumption of normal work of the Cyprus banking system. “We want the matter to be settled soon so that there should be no currency restrictions on banks that function well. In any country, if there are banks that took risks and have problems, it is necessary to sort out matters with them rather than to halt the entire banking system,” Siluanov said.