Eurozone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund have struck a deal to give cash-strapped Cyprus a bailout worth $13 billion to avoid bankruptcy.
The deal was agreed upon early Saturday after 10 hours of talks.
The president of the Eurogroup, Dutch Finance Minister Jerome Dijsselbloem, said the assistance was "warranted to safeguard financial stability in Cyprus and the eurozone as a whole."
Cyprus has been caught in a financial crisis aggravated by the situation in Greece.
The government sought international help because Cypriot banks suffered huge losses from Greece's sovereign debt restructuring. The island nation, which has been shut out of international financial markets since May 2011, had originally requested $22 billion in aid.
Cyprus is the fifth member state to secure a debt rescue package from its 16 eurozone partners in the three-year debt crisis.
The deal was agreed upon early Saturday after 10 hours of talks.
The president of the Eurogroup, Dutch Finance Minister Jerome Dijsselbloem, said the assistance was "warranted to safeguard financial stability in Cyprus and the eurozone as a whole."
Cyprus has been caught in a financial crisis aggravated by the situation in Greece.
The government sought international help because Cypriot banks suffered huge losses from Greece's sovereign debt restructuring. The island nation, which has been shut out of international financial markets since May 2011, had originally requested $22 billion in aid.
Cyprus is the fifth member state to secure a debt rescue package from its 16 eurozone partners in the three-year debt crisis.
