Russian PM calls EU approach to Cyprus crisis "absurd"

Source: Tanjug

MOSCOW -- Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has said that the European proposal for solving the Cyprus crisis was "absurd".

Barroso and Medvedev are seen in Moscow on Thursday (Tanjug)

Medvedev spoke on Thursday in Moscow at the opening of a conference held with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, and criticized EU's strategy for rescuing the ailing eurozone member, according to AFP.
"The scheme which is now proposed for Cyprus is absurd. I believe that in any case the euro group should consider a future plan for the resolution of the crisis in Cyprus, with the participation of all interested parties, including Russia," Medvedev said.

His comments come on the eve of a meeting between Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluan with his Cypriot counterpart Michalis Sarris.

In an interview this morning posted on the official website of the Russian government, Medvedev likened the proposals of the EU, the European Commission and the Cyprus government to solve the debt problem to "the behavior of an elephant in a china shop."

Cypriot lawmakers earlier this week rejected the unpopular measure that the government intended to impose - a one-off, 9.9 percent tax on bank deposits. This measure was as a condition for Cyprus to receive aid worth EUR 10 billion.

In an interview with European media, Medvedev has threatened that Russia may pull out of the Russia-Cyprus agreement on avoidance of double taxation.