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Russia has yet to receive an official request from Cyprus for a loan to help bail out its ailing economy, the finance minister said Thursday, after reports said Nicosia was seeking billions in Russian aid.
“I have not received an official request from that state (Cyprus) about the provision of credit resources,” Finance Minister Anton Siluanov was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies.
Cyprus in 2011 secured a 2.5-billion-euro ($3.1 billion) low-interest loan from Russia to cover its refinancing needs for this year, but its problems have increased due to a banking crisis stoked by the economic woes in Greece.