NICOSIA - Cyprus's Finance Minister Vassos Shiarly said Thursday he hoped international lenders would visit "very very soon" for a final round of talks on financial aid and conclude them before a meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Nov. 12.

Shiarly also told state radio that he believed comments attributed to German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble on a delay in talks until 2013 on Wednesday were a "misunderstanding".

"I believe, and hope that very very soon there will be an announcement for the arrival of the Troika," said Shiarly, referring to the collective of lenders from the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the IMF.

"We would want it (a deal) very much to be discussed on Nov. 12," Shiarly added, but implied that things were still fluid. He has said before that he wanted finance ministers to approve a deal at the November meeting.

Tiny Cyprus sought aid from its EU partners and the IMF in June after its two largest banks were battered by a Greek sovereign debt writedown, further depressing an economy already struggling with public finance problems.

Minutes of a confidential meeting with party leaders on Oct. 3, leaked to media this week, showed Shiarly expressing concern some EU partners would "butcher" the island in their austerity demands in return for aid.

(Reuters)