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Headlines: Argentina says “No” to the British; Chile: Trade and Iraq, “completely independent”; Praise from Köhler

Argentina says "No" Argentina rejected this Monday a last minute official request from the United Kingdom to support military action in Iraq. According to the Argentine press, British Ambassador in Buenos Aires Robin Christopher met with Foreign Policy Under Secretary Fernando Petrella for the official request. Mr. Petrella reported the request to Foreign Affairs Minister Carlos Ruckauf who is currently in New York. President Eduardo Duhalde's administration reply is in line with the position held by Latinamerica and expressed by its two non permanent U.N. Security Council members, Chile and Mexico who stated that the diplomatic venue has not been exhausted. The Buenos Aires press also reported that all Argentine military personnel in the demilitarized Iraq-Kuwait zone under United Nations command have been evacuated. Similarly all Argentine civilians have abandoned Baghdad given the United States ultimatum to the Saddam Hussein regime.

Trade and Iraq, "completely independent"

Chilean Foreign Affairs Minister Soledad Alvear stated this Monday that the Free Trade Agreement with the United States is "completely independent" from any decision taken by the Security Council. Ms. Alvear said the final drafting of the agreement was moving ahead with the participation of Chilean and American trade experts. "Any agreement, after negotiations are over, is followed by a draft period. This happened with the European Union and South Korea trade agreements. It's a normal procedure and completely independent from any other multilateral issue", indicated Ms. Alvear in direct reference to Chile's vote in the Security Council. "I'm sure that once these very complex moments for the whole world are over, we will continue to advance in the many fields of a very rich relation we have with the United States". Chile has an annual bilateral trade of over 6 billion US dollars with United States and expects to considerably increase it once the agreement is signed and ratified. Regarding the Iraq conflict Ms. Alvear insisted that the final objective is the complete disarmament of the Saddam regime, for which Chile still believes there are peaceful means of achieving it. Reflecting this position an opinion poll taken by the University of Chile over the weekend showed that 98% of Chileans reject an American attack against Iraq, while 27% believe that oil is the main reason behind the President Bush administration armed intervention. An overwhelming majority of Chileans, 83%, said that they are convinced United States put pressure on Chile to obtain the country's support in the Security Council; another 13% rejected the idea and 4% didn't answer. And finally if war begins, 47% of Chileans will continue with their normal lives; 11% will pray and 10% will store food and other non perishables.

Praise from Köhler

The International Monetary Fund Managing Director Horst Köhler praised the current stabilization of the Argentine economy and described Latinamerica's performance as encouraging. However Mr. Köhler warned the Argentine situation was still "fragile" and encouraged the government to move ahead with a package of reforms essential to ensure the country's recovery. In an interview published in the Spanish leading newspaper "El País", the IMF Managing Director said that although the IMF was happy with the current stability, much still lies ahead if Argentina is to have a "solid" and sustainable financial structure. Mr. Köhler insisted that it's becoming ever more pressing to address certain reforms that will help re-establish long term growth in Argentina. Finally Mr. Köhler indicated he was convinced that the agreement reached between the IMF and Argentina will stand, "and Argentina will honour its commitments". Regarding Brazil Mr. Köhler said he was "optimistic" since the "democratic transition has given proof of the political maturity of the country". The Lula da Silva administration has defined the correct economic program according to the IMF number one: macroeconomic stability and growth with social fairness, plus the necessary policies to avert inflation and keep public finances under control. Overall Latinamerica performance is encouraging, although "it's necessary to combat corruption because it weakens democratic institutions, discourages investment is especially harmful for the poor", stressed Mr. Köhler, who also admitted the IMF was following closely events in "Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay". Venezuela was described as the country that currently generates "most concern".