Cyprus ready for final talks on bailout
NICOSIA, Cyprus Cyprus' government spokesman says the country is ready for a final round of negotiations with its potential bailout creditors to agree on a rescue deal to shore up its ailing banks and economy.
Stefanos Stefanou says talks with opposition parties and trade unions aimed at garnering support for the government's own proposals have wrapped up.
He says those proposals will be dispatched to the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund - collectively known as the troika - later Monday. A date for the arrival of troika officials will be announced soon.
Cyprus hopes to have an agreement in hand by Nov. 12, when eurozone ministers meet, so it can receive the first batch of bailout money by next month, when state coffers will be depleted.