Bush Discusses Argentine Crisis With British, Spanish PMsU.S. President George W. Bush held telephone talks on Friday with British and Spanish leaders on the current financial crisis in Argentina, and they agreed to focus on the pending loans from the International Monetary Fund ( IMF) as a way out.White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said that British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar called Bush for discussion on ways to stabilize the economic situation in Argentina. Argentina, which has been bogged down in a three-year economic recession, is facing an uphill struggle to pay back US$130 billion in foreign debt. Fleischer said that the three leaders expressed support for the austerity program proposed by Argentine President Fernando De la Rua's government. In order to bail South America's second-largest economy out of the crisis, the IMF has decided to provide Argentina with a loan of some US$7 billion. But there have been reports that Argentina may request more funding. Nevertheless, Fleischer said, the leaders "all agreed that the focus should remain on implementation of the current IMF package for Argentina." |
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