NEWS

Medvedev: Moscow not ‘closing door on Cyprus’

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday that Moscow has not ruled out providing funding for Nicosia but would only offer aid once Cyprus and European Union reach a consensus on a bailout for Cypriot banks.

Medvedev was addressing a news conference in Moscow following talks with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso who stressed that there was «no time to lose» in reaching a solution for Cyprus.

“We are not closing the door,» Medvedev said, adding that the Russians are «ready to discuss various forms of support once a final plan has been worked out between the EU and Cyprus which is a member state of the EU.»

The Russian premier conceded that Russia has «considerable economic interests» on the island.

Meanwhile the vice president of Russia’s Central Bank Alexei Simanovski said that the crisis in Cyprus did not pose a threat to the Russian banking system.

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