Cyprus says Greek reforms much improved

The president of Cyprus says the Greek government's reform proposals to its creditors are much improved from previous versions and that theres a "solid basis" for an agreement to prevent the country from going bankrupt.

President Nicos Anastasiades says he's "more optimistic" now than he was in the past few days when there was much uncertainty whether Greece would meet a Thursday deadline to submit the proposals.

Anastasiades said he fully supports the restructuring of Greece's debt to make it more sustainable which would help the country overcome its economic crisis.

He said debt relief doesn't necessarily mean a write-off, but an agreement could see repayment deadlines extended and interest rates slashed.

Anastasiades was speaking after talks aimed at reunifying ethnically divided Cyprus with breakaway Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci.

[AP]