Cyprus says talks about euro exit "absolute nonsense"

Cyprus dismissed as completely unfounded press reports that it will follow Greece out of the eurozone in case of a Greek exit.

"This is outrageous, an absolute nonsense," said Finance Minister Harris Georgiades on Saturday, commenting on a report in the German Der Spiegel Magazine.

Der Spiegel claimed that Eurogroup finance ministers discussed an extreme scenario about Greece leaving the eurozone at their meeting in Brussels on Wednesday. It added that in such a case Cyprus will follow suit because of its close economic connections with Greece.

It quoted unidentified sources as saying that the exit of the two countries from the euro would be manageable.

"The Eurogroup meeting did not even touch upon the possibility of Greece exiting the euro, not even in private conversations between the ministers. Much more they did not discuss the prospect of Cyprus leaving the eurozone," Georgiades said.

"This possibility will never come up," he added.

Cyprus was bailed out by the Eurogroup and the International Monetary Fund in March 2013, in a three-year deal providing for 10 billion euros (11.4 billion U.S. dollars) in economic assistance in exchange for an adjustment program to reform its economy.

Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said on Friday that it is possible for Cyprus to get out of the economic adjustment program at the end of this year provided it sticks to its consistent implementation. Endit