
Argentina's Economy minister Axel Kicillof lashed out at US Judge Thomas Griesa after he authorized Citibank a one-off payment of Argentine bonds' coupon next Tuesday saying he once again failed to address the heart of the issue and also in fact recognized that bonds under Argentine law do not belong to his jurisdiction.

US District Judge Thomas Griesa has enabled Citibank to process a one-off payment on US dollar-denominated bonds issued under Argentine law, during a hearing held at Manhattan federal court on Friday.

By Arturo Porzecanski of American University (*) - Jose Antonio Ocampo, a former United Nations official and co-president with Prof. Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University’s Initiative for Policy Dialogue, which promotes the adoption of heterodox economic policies in developing countries, recently wrote a guest post welcoming a UN General Assembly resolution calling for the launch of negotiations on a multilateral framework for sovereign debt restructuring.

The United Nations Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva on Friday adopted an Argentine-fueled resolution which condemns the so called 'holdouts' or “vulture funds”, currently in a legal dispute against the country.

US Assistant Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere Roberta Jacobson has said the bilateral relationship with Argentina is going through a “difficult period”, but stated the legal battle between that country and holdouts is not a “political problem” but a “judicial problem.”

Angela Merkel’s administration attempted to lower tensions with the Argentine government on Thursday following controversial statements made by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble regarding the so called 'holdouts' or 'vulture funds' conflict.

The Argentine government announced that airlines for both commercial and non commercial flights will be required to deliver further information of its passengers to the National Migrations Office, the AFIP tax bureau, Airport Police and Civil Aviation National Administration (ANAC).

Argentine President Cristina Fernández accused holdout investors of committing economic terrorism and reiterated her wish for a multi-lateral framework to regulate sovereign debt, during her speech before the United Nations 69th General Assembly on Wednesday.

New York district judge Thomas Griesa has asked Argentina to show cause and explain why the country should not be declared in contempt, following its decision not to pay holdout investors full amount for their defaulted bonds as the judge’s ruling ordered on August 8.

The informal rate for the US dollar in Argentina kept climbing on Wednesday and after brushing 16 Pesos, finally closed 53 cents higher at 15.95 Pesos, while the gap with the formal dollar soared to 89%. Distrust with government policy, plain speculation and hikes in the stock exchange rate were blamed for the situation.