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Iceland to continue talks with Russia over loan

Business Materials 16 October 2008 14:41 (UTC +04:00)

Iceland was set to continue talks with Russia over a loan to ease its financial situation, the Icelandic central bank said in a statement Thursday.

During the two-day talks in Moscow that ended Wednesday, delegates from the Icelandic Finance Ministry and central bank met with, among others, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Dimitri Pankin, reported dpa.

Pankin said in the joint statement there was need for "further exploration of the issues before we can reach a final decision."

Iceland earlier has mentioned the sum of 4 billion euros (5.4 billion dollars).

The Icelandic central bank on Wednesday lowered key interest rates from 15.5 to 12 per cent.

Last week, the government in Reykjavik nationalized the country's three largest banks, which have run up liabilities at least five times that of Iceland's gross national product in recent years.

An appeal by Iceland for help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is expected by next week.

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