Cyprus could default on loan payments due this month unless it can reach an agreement on a bailout with international lenders within days, a government official said on Monday. "If in the coming days the state is unable to secure 250-300 million euros ($330-$395 million), then the state will proceed to default on payments," finance ministry official Christos Patsalides told a parliamentary committee.

Patsalides said the government had no "plan B" if it fails to reach an agreement on a bailout. The cash-strapped government wants to dip into the pension and provident funds of semi-government organisations as it has nowhere to turn to secure such amounts on a short-term basis. Employees of the telecommunications authority have protested against such moves as they fear they will not get their money back.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012