FINANCE Minister Vassos Shiarly said yesterday he had no clue about a “new” Cypriot proposal for an interstate loan from Russia.
“I am not aware of any new specific proposal by Nicosia to Moscow,” Shiarly told newsmen.
He was responding to what AKEL leader Andros Kyprianou earlier told newsmen. Kyprianou said that Cyprus has submitted to Russia a “new” or “revised” proposal for a loan.
The AKEL chief said President Christofias had personally briefed him on the government’s latest proposal for a loan before he [Kyprianou] flew out to Moscow last Sunday.
While in Russia, Kyprianou met with the Chairman of the State Duma Sergey Naryshkin, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko and the leader of the Russian Communist Party Gennady Zyuganov. He said he had the opportunity to discuss the matter of the loan request with the Russian officials.
According to Kyprianou, President Christofias – realising that Russia was having difficulty responding to Nicosia’s initial demand for a loan – has submitted a new proposal, which was “now on the table.”
But later in the day, and following the finance minister’s comment that he knew nothing of the kind, Kyprianou seemed to modify his earlier remarks: he said the proposal he had referred to was "essentially” the same proposal submitted to Moscow back in June.
“It is a modified proposal, but the substance of the proposal remains the same,” he said.
It is hardly the first time the Presidential Palace and the Finance Ministry appear to be out of sync, be it on the progress of EU bailout talks or on the elusive Russian loan.
Cyprus applied to Russia for a €5.0 billion loan on top of €2.5 billion it borrowed in 2011.
On Wednesday, Moscow reiterated that any financial assistance to Cyprus must be done through the EU.
“Our Finance Ministry is considering this application. We don’t have special funds to support the European economy, but we’re willing to consider such an application. And of course it must be done in cooperation with the European Union. I don’t think in the current difficult conditions these kinds of problems can be solved on a bilateral basis,” First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov told Euronews.
Weighing in, presidential candidate Yiorgos Lillikas, who also was in Moscow recently, said the Russians had “certain concerns” about Cyprus’ request for a loan. One concern, he said, was that the troika insists that its own loan be repaid first before the Republic of Cyprus repays other loans.
The prospect of Russia waiting in line [for its loan to be repaid] did not “appeal” to Moscow, Lillikas said.
The Russians’ other worry, he added, is the prospect of a future haircut on any loan given to Cyprus, explaining that this was why Shuvalov said any financial assistance to Cyprus should be done through the EU.
With Cyprus yet to conclude a bailout agreement with the troika, the question of a Russian loan has turned into a saga, re-emerging several times over the past couple of months. Despite clarifications such as Shuvalov’s, the government camp here has been striving to give the impression that the issue of the Russian loan is “alive.”