Merkel: EU Running Out of Patience with Cyprus

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Cyprus on Friday that its eurozone partners were running out of patience in talks over a bailout plan.

Merkel told a closed-door meeting of legislators in Berlin that Cyprus should not continue to test the limits of the so-called troika - the European Central Bank, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund - which oversees bailouts.

The chancellor complained that Nicosia had not communicated with the troika for several days, lawmakers attending the meeting said, according to DPA.

Cypriot lawmakers are currently considering proposals to unlock bailout funds and prevent a financial collapse. They rejected a proposal to tax bank deposits made last weekend by the 17 euro-area finance ministers.

The European Central Bank, which makes up the troika along with the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission, issued an end-March 25 deadline for a deal before it cuts off emergency funding to the nation's lenders.

Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Friday that talks between Russia and Cyprus on a possible financial rescue package have ended without result.