..........Rejected by its Western allies, Iceland on Tuesday said it was in talks to borrow 4 billion euros ($5.4 billion) from Russia to shore up its financial system. It would be the first time Russia has extended financial assistance to a NATO country.
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“If it goes through, this will be a very, very big help for us,” said central bank chief David Oddsson, who complained that other European nations had failed to rescue Iceland.
“We haven't got so much help from our very good friends in the Western hemisphere; this decision by the Russian government to take up negotiations is very much welcome,” Oddsson told Bloomberg Television. Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said Russia's reaction to the request was “positive.”
Ordinary Icelanders, whose country for decades hosted a U.S. airbase, seemed grateful, too.
“Iceland is turning into the little Cuba of the north,” said Ragnar Hannes Gudmundsson, 38, a former bank employee who is now a teacher. “The Soviet Union supported Cuba decades ago and now they are saving us.”
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http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=117071
