BRUSSELS, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Eurozone finance ministers said on Monday that they are confident of reaching a bailout deal for Cyprus by the end of March, although details are yet to be sorted out.
"We agreed to target a political endorsement of the programme towards the second half of March," Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem told reporters after a regular meeting of eurozone finance ministers.
So far one of the biggest obstacles for reaching a bailout deal had been removed as the new Cypriot government had agreed to an independent review of how Cypriot banks are implementing anti-money laundering laws, said Dijsselbloem.
However, details of the rescue program, including the key question of whether bank depositors should be forced to pay a share of the cost of the bailout, are yet to be settled.
Dijsselbloem, who also serves as Dutch finance minister, declined to rule out a "bail in" of Cypriot depositors, saying that "all the questions on the elements" will be dealt with by late March.
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