“According to the preliminary data for July, it seems that things are improving compared to the previous months”, the Government Spokesman Mr Stefanos Stefanou stated regarding public finances.

Invited to explain a previous statement he made regarding the fiscal deficit, the Government Spokesman said: “without taking measures and based on the data for the first semester of 2012 – and if this trend continues – the fiscal deficit will reach around 4.5%. When I made that statement I did not take into account the package of measures that we approved last June.»

In statements to the press at the Presidential Palace, Mr Stefanou, asked if there is anything new in relation to the Russian loan, said: “As the Minister of Finance has said, based on the data available the state’s liquidity will last until the end of October, if not later than that. Of course we always take this into account in our preparation and preliminary work with respect to the discussion with Troika and the issues of fiscal consolidation and fiscal discipline. As far as the Russian loan is concerned, there is nothing new at the moment; we are waiting”.

Asked if there is anything specific in relation to the visit of the President of the Russian Federation Mr Vladimir Putin to Cyprus, Mr Stefanou said that there is nothing.

Replying to another question Mr Stefanou said that “in the package of measures approved last June there is also a provision for the further cost reduction of 40 million euros in the public sector. This means that these 40 million euros pass on to cuts in Ministries and state services. It is a task that has been done between the Ministry of Finance and the televant Ministries in order to reduce the costs in the framework of addressing the fiscal challenges that lie ahead of us”.

The Government Spokesman, Stefanos Stefanou