Cyprus says tax on deposits was alternative to bankruptcy

Cyprus's president said on Sunday he had to accept a painful compromise on accepting a tax on bank deposits in return for international aid, or else the island would have faced bankruptcy.

"The solution we concluded is not what we wanted, but is the least painful under the circumstances," President Nicos Anastasiades said in a state address.

(Reporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Matthew Tostevin)