Berlin/Brussels - Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades on Thursday said his country would abide by any conditions attached to an international bailout, as Germany insisted that the island must implement reforms before getting the aid.
The rescue package, estimated at about 17 billion euros (22 billion dollars), has been complicated by German accusations that Cyprus is a haven for money launderers and tax evaders.
Nicosia has rejected the allegations.
“For Cyprus, the same rules apply as for everyone else. Before we talk about aid, we have to talk about the sources of the problems,” German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told the Passauer Neue Presse newspaper in an interview published Thursday.
An oversized banking sector is mainly to blame, Schaeuble said, while also noting that “the questions surrounding the issue of money laundering have to be solved, just as Cyprus has to improve its revenue base.”
Cypriot authorities have been negotiating the bailout conditions for months with the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.
Eurozone leaders are expected to discuss the issue on Thursday night, on the margins of a European Union summit in Brussels that Anastasiades will attend - his first since becoming president last month.
“We are working towards reaching final agreement,” Anastasiades said ahead of the meeting, during a visit to the European Parliament. “We are decisive to implement any of the terms we're going to agree.”
Eurozone finance ministers have called a special meeting on Friday evening to discuss Cyprus, raising prospects that a deal on a bailout might be nearing completion. The German parliament would have to approve any agreement. - Sapa-dpa