Government of Cyprus

Nicos Katsourides, a senior member of the Greek Cypriot Progressive Party of the Working People (AKEL), let the cat out of the bag. "What's being achieved at the [intercommunal] talks is nothing further than a reaffirmation of the past convergences; in reality the talks have landed in a deadlock," the veteran politician said during an interview with the Alithia.

The Cypriot Parliament has adopted a government budget that envisions an increase in spending of only 0.6 percent.

The budget forecasts state revenue of 5.928 billion euros compared with 5.952 billion euros in 2014, with spending of 6.660 billion euros.

The House of Representatives approved the tight spending plan late Tuesday by a vote of 29-26.