Cyprus bank creditors must share burden - German finance minister

ATHENS (Reuters) - The euro zone stands ready to help bail out Cyprus but the burden must be shared by its banks, otherwise the island's economy will collapse under its public debt, Germany's Finance Minister told a Greek newspaper on Friday.

"The perception that this (Cyprus) problem can be solved only by taxpayers in the euro zone without the participation of major creditors of Cypriot banks cannot be accepted by Europe's citizens," Wolfgang Schaeuble told daily Ta Nea in an interview.