Christofias: Troika terms for Nicosia hard to accept
Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias said the so-called troika of the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund are setting “political terms” in its bailout talks that are hard for the country to accept.
“The negotiation is difficult, which was to be expected,” Christofias said, according to the e-mailed transcript of a speech in Nicosia on Wednesday.
“Time is, of course, important in this negotiation. But we all have to answer the question of whether the time factor is the only important factor. In our view, the content of the agreement is the key factor as it will determine the future of our country and people for the coming years.”
Cyprus in June became the fifth euro-area country to seek a bailout after its banks took large losses from Greece’s sovereign debt restructuring.
Christofias has promised to defend wage indexation and the so-called 13th salary, which the troika said must be scrapped.
[Bloomberg]
