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Cyprus will be supportive in the effort of Greece to achieve a restructuring of the terms, so that the debt can be sustainable, President Nicos Anastasiades said on Monday as he prepared to take part in the special EU Summit in Brussels on Tuesday with regard to the developments in Greece.
In his remarks to reporters, at the Presidential Palace, Anastasiades said that “the first thing (that I want to point out) is the absolute respect for the decision of the Greek people, not only from us, but also from all Europeans and in particular from all the European governments.”
“The second thing that I ought to recognise, is the positive approach of the Prime Minister (Alexis Tsipras) that the predominance of the ‘no’ vote does not mean, in any way, the exit of Greece from the euro.”
Throughout recent weeks, and in particular in the lead up to Sunday’s referendum, where 61% of the country voted to reject the higher taxes and extended austerity in exchange for a substantial reform and debt repayment programme, the Cyprus government has expressed its support to Greece, at the same time calling on Athens to adopt an economic adjustment programme.
Even Finance Minister Haris Georghiades said that Cyprus was prepared to forgive its share of Greece’s foreign debt, accounting for about EUR 330 mln, as long as Athens proceeded with some form of restructuring and negotiation with the ‘institutions’ of the European Commission, the European Central bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Similar to other EU periphery states, Cyprus has been praised for its progress in introducing reforms, cutting down fiscal spending and encouraging privatisation in an effort to lower its own debt, of which EUR 10 bln has been earmarked as the bailout programme with the Troika of international lenders.
However, one Cyprus bank had to close and another sought a depositor rescue in the form of a ‘bail in’ and eventually brought in new investors, when Cyprus banks were exposed to EUR 4.5 bln toxic Greek government bonds that were written down by universal agreement among Eurozone leaders in 2011. Cypriot banks also lost their entire branch networks in Greece that were subsequently seized by the central bank of Greece.
Comminting on Sunday’s referendum outcome, President Anastasiades noted “the decisiveness with which the Greek government is undertaking the initiatives in order to achieve an agreement that will meet the targets, which must also be the targets of Europe as well.”
“First, an agreement that will take into consideration the social repercussions and in particular the human crisis that Greece is facing, whereas a second element is the growth that must be achieved through special resources. For both, what is required, in my view, at the present stage, is for the unsustainability of the Greek debt to be taken into consideration.”
He called on all parties to achieve, “at the earliest possible, an agreement that will keep Greece in the EU, keep Greece in the euro, and create prospects that will safeguard the future and better conditions for Hellenism.”
“We will be supportive in the effort of Greece to achieve a restructuring of the terms so that the debt can be sustainable; to achieve through announcements by (Commission President Jean Claude) Juncker himself as well, significant investments from funds that Greece is entitled to, so that the investment can take place, and to have terms that will at long last take into consideration the human crisis that the country is facing today”.
