The Cyprus crisis is turning into a Cold War–era James Bond film. Cyprus will ask Russia for bailout aid on Wednesday as the European Union threatened to cut off the tiny nation, prompting fears of a default and banking crisis. The move comes just one day after Cyprus’s Parliament rejected the bailout deal proposed by the EU and the International Monetary Fund, which would have imposed a onetime tax on civilians’ bank accounts to finance the deal. Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades will meet with party leaders on Wednesday to hammer out an alternative plan, as not a single lawmaker voted for the controversial blueprint proposed by the EU. It’s the first time any EU country has rejected a bailout plan put forth by the international coalition.
