Cyprus president trying to amend bailout plan

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus’ president says he is trying to amend a detested bailout plan that would tax bank deposits across the country to reduce its effect on small savers.

But in a nationally televised speech, President Nicos Anastasiades also urged lawmakers to approve the bailout plan Monday, saying it is essential to save the country from bankruptcy.

“I completely share the unpleasant sentiment that this difficult and onerous decision has caused,” he said Sunday night. “That’s why I continue to give battle so that the decisions of the eurozone are amended in the next hours to limit the effect on small depositors.”

In exchange for $13 billion in rescue money, creditors would impose a one-time tax of 6.75 percent on all bank deposits under $131,000 and 9.9 percent over that amount.