President Christofias ruled out Friday the possibility of a “haircut” on the Cyprus debt.

Asked to comment on reports that the IMF is considering a Cyprus debt write-off, the President said that a “haircut” would require the consent of the 27 EU member states.

“We will not accept such a thing,” he stressed, replying to questions during a visit to a military camp.

Cyprus, heavily exposed to the Greek debt, has come to a preliminary agreement with international lenders but it is not yet clear when it will be finalized so that the money will flow in.

The Cabinet has approved a loan of a total of 250 million euro from three semi-governmental organizations, namely the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC), the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (Cyta) and the Cyprus Ports Authority.

The 2013 state budget, passed by the House of Representatives on December 19, contains the measures approved for the adjustment programme, agreed between the government and the Troika (IMF, EC and ECB), as part of Cyprus` application for financial assistance from the EU bailout mechanism.

Total public expenditures for 2013 will reach 9.5 billion euro, whereas the GDP will reach 17.5 billion euro, marking a reduction of 2% compared to 17.9 billion euro in 2012.