President of Russia Vladimir Putin has assured Cyprus President Demetris Christofias that the Russian Federation is ready to contribute, with the EU, in the financing of Cyprus, during a telephone conversation they had on Wednesday evening.
In statements to the press on Thursday in Belgrade, where he is paying a visit, Christofias noted that a helping hand from Russia will save Cyprus.
According to an official press release, Christofias noted that “for a few months now I have contact with the President of the Russian Federation Mr. Putin and generally with the leadership of the Russian Federation.”
He said that yesterday he had a telephone conversation with Putin, while he was in Rome, on his way to Belgrade.
“It was a cordial and friendly conversation, as usually, and of course it focused on the financial situation in Cyprus and the possible participation of the Russian Federation in the financing of the Republic of Cyprus,” Christofias noted.
He added that “President Putin assured me that the Russian Federation is ready to contribute, with the EU, in the financing of Cyprus. It is natural that the Russian Federation is interested in Cyprus being financed from the EU as well, as it (Cyprus) is a member of the Union.”
Christofias said that at the same time, Putin, as a friend of Cyprus, would like to help, in cooperation with the EU. “The Finance Ministry of the Russian Federation is in contact with the European Commission and I hope that there will be a positive outcome on this issue soon,” he added.
The President of Cyprus expressed his warm thanks to Putin for his readiness to lend a helping hand to the Republic of Cyprus, honouring the traditional, close friendship between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Cyprus.
He said that he assured Putin that the Republic of Cyprus will be worthy of the friendship and the trust of the Russian Federation towards her.
Replying to a question, Christofias expressed the belief that “this helping hand will save Cyprus. This does not mean that we will disengage from our obligations concerning structural changes in the economy and the payment of potential loans either from Russia or jointly from the EU and the Russian Federation,” he concluded.
Excluded from the international capital markets since April 2011, Cyprus applied on June 25 for financial assistance after its two largest banks sought state support following massive losses as a result of the haircut of the Greek sovereign debt.
The Cypriot programme is estimated to reach 17.5 billion euro, which practically equal to the island`s GDP.
The Cypriot authorities and the Troika have agreed on a four-year adjustment programme providing for measures totaling 7.25% of GDP (1.29 billion euro) for the period of 2012-2016. The Cypriot package cannot be agreed as capital needs of the banking sector have yet to be determined.
