Summary Cyprus finance minister Michalis Sarris has left Russia after talks.
MOSCOW (AFP) - Cypriot Finance Minister Michalis Sarris left Moscow on Friday after two days of talks aimed at securing Russia's economic aid, a diplomatic source said without disclosing whether an agreement was reached.
"The Cyprus delegation together with the finance minister has left Moscow," the source told AFP.
Russia, which holds between one third and half of all the island's bank deposits, had been pressed by the Cypriot delegation to extend the terms of a five-year 2.5-billion-euro loan that Moscow extended in 2011.
Sarris, who originally said he would remain in Russia until a deal was reached, had told Cypriot television on Thursday that he was not seeking new loans from Moscow but offering it stakes in Cyprus's banks and energy deposits.
"As you know a loan can't be given to Cyprus because this would create a problem with debt sustainability, so we have to find investment opportunities," Sarris told Sigma television.
"There isn't much time, so before the weekend is over we should know where we stand... and see if we can find the best solution. We will stay in Russia as long as is needed," he said on Thursday.
Sarris met on Wednesday with his Russian counterpart Anton Siluanov and First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, but no other details of his talks have been released.
