HispanicBusiness

Officials from the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank arrived in Nicosia on Monday to begin talks on the terms of an emergency bailout, media reports said.

The delegation made up of 30 officials will start discussions on Tuesday to evaluate the Cypriot banking system and discuss the country's general fiscal needs and long-term economic outlook.

Last week, the country became the fifth eurozone member to seek an international bailout from fellow EU members and the IMF, blaming its economic troubles on spillover from next-door neighbour Greece.

The talks come as Cyprus takes charge of the rotating six-month presidency of the EU Council on Sunday.

Cypriot officials have refused to disclose how much money they would ask from international creditors but media reports say the government needs as much as 10 billion euros ($12.6 billion) to shore up its public sector and banks, which are heavily exposed to Greek debt.

President Demetris Christofias - the EU's only communist leader - has been reluctant to borrow from the European Union, fearing the imposition of unpopular fiscal austerity measures eight months before a general election.

Fearing the repercussions of a major bailout from the European Union, Nicosia is also negotiating for bilateral loans from Russia and China.

The country is surviving on a 2.5-billion-euro loan from Russia since being locked out of international markets because of its junk credit rating.

Speaking to state broadcaster RIK, Cypriot Finance Minister Vassos Shairly expressed confidence that the island would avoid implementing "catastrophic austerity measures," that other bailed out countries, including Greece and Portugal have had to carry out in exchange for financial aid.