TIME was not the only important factor in the bailout negotiations, President Demetris Christofias said yesterday, as he reiterated that certain political conditions tabled by international lenders would be hard to accept.
Christofias also called on the opposition to stop suggesting he was blocking an agreement, even though one appeared no closer yesterday.
“Certainly the time factor is important in this negotiation,” Christofias said, but it was not the only one.
“In our perception, the substance, the contents of the agreement is the most decisive parameter since it will define the future of the country and the people in the coming years,” the president said.
Speaking at the AGM of the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency, Christofias said it is a difficult negotiation and “political conditions submitted by the troika are difficult to accept”.
He did not elaborate.
It was the same statement he made last Saturday in Greece, which came to contradict Finance Minister Vassos Shiarly’s comment that progress had been achieved in the negotiations.
The opposition criticised the government over the contradictory statements, as rumours insisted Christofias is trying to avoid putting his name on a bailout agreement.
The president himself, without naming anyone, said people should stop sending messages to Europe “that ministers supposedly want and the president is obstructing the signing of a memorandum”.
Opposition DISY leader and presidential candidate Nicos Anastassiades pointed out the contradictions and voiced hope that the administration, which he said shares the blame for the woes of the economy, would have the courage to sign a deal.
“The measures will be painful, without a doubt. We have lost valuable time,” Anastassiades said during a lunchtime news show on state broadcaster CyBC. “They would have been a lot less painful if only they had listened to us when we warned them.”
Government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou said the only thing that caused confusion were the contradictory comments made by the opposition.
“On the one hand opposition parties demand a tough negotiation and on the other they accuse the government for supposedly delaying signing the memorandum,” Stefanou said. “What does the opposition really want? Sign a memorandum whose only contents would be the troika’s demands and conditions?”
Asked if he agreed with Shiarly’s comment, Stefanou said “we shall see this at the end of the road.”
The aim was for an agreement as soon as possible, the spokesman said, on condition that the contents are known.
But it appears that it would not be soon enough for the government to receive much-needed cash to cover its increased obligations next month.
The troika delegation currently on the island is not even authorised to close a deal, Stefanou said, because the amount needed for recapitalising the banks is still unknown.
Reports said the administration would need some €350 million in December.
Stefanou did not get into details regarding the negotiations but he repeated that one major sticking point was the disagreement on the amount needed for recapitalising the banks.
That amount is still unknown although the troika’s estimate is around double that of the government’s, hence the former’s stricter austerity measures.
Meanwhile the troika continued its contacts with officials representing various sectors of the economy.
Reports said the lenders, together with the government, will task an independent organisation to review the efficiency of the civil service with special emphasis on tax collection.
The troika has also suggested liberalising legal charges and allowing advertising by law offices - both proposals are rejected by lawyers.
President Demetris Christofias meeting yesterday with trade union representatives, who handed him a memorandum with their positions, on the day of European Action and Solidarity protests