MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

”This is the only offer we'll make'

President Néstor Kirchner, speaking before the Council of the Americas in New York, yesterday bluntly reaffirmed that his government is only ready to repay 25 percent of the roughly 90 billion dollars Argentina defaulted on nearly three years ago amid its deepest economic crisis in history.

"We know that some say that we will make a new offer. They are wrong. This is the only offer we will make. There are distorting noises but we want to be clear and say that we will not commit ourselves to something we cannot abide by," Kirchner said.

"We are on our way to being a predictable country. The challenge is also to attain domestic sustainability and to that end we need to cut inequalities." Argentina has a mammoth 180 billion-dollar public debt. A deep recession after years of steady growth forced it to declare the world's largest debt default in history in late 2001. The crisis helped push over half of the population into poverty in a country which decades ago boasted of having one of the best living standards in the world

Listening to him at the Sheraton Hotel were some 400 businessmen and bankers such as Citibank's William Rhodes and representatives of HSBC, Credit Suisse First Boston banks, among other companies, including MetLife, Bridas, Telefónica and Irsa. Kirchner, who was in New York to attend the United Nations 59th General Assembly annual meeting, said that his government is not ready to make "an unreal offer. We will turn this sad and regrettable page because the people have not suffered what they suffered just to repeat history."

"We trust that there will be a successful (bond) swap, that investors will back us and that, after normalizing the debt situation, Argentina will be able to offer new opportunities," Kirchner said.

"We are on our way to being a predictable country. The challenge is also to attain domestic sustainability and to that end we need to cut inequalities."

Argentina has a mammoth 180 billion-dollar public debt. A deep recession after years of steady growth forced it to declare the world's largest debt default in history in late 2001. The crisis helped push over half of the population into poverty in a country which decades ago boasted of having one of the best living standards in the world.

President Néstor Kirchner, speaking before the Council of the Americas in New York, yesterday bluntly reaffirmed that his government is only ready to repay 25 percent of the roughly 90 billion dollars Argentina defaulted on nearly three years ago amid its deepest economic crisis in history. "We know that some say that we will make a new offer. They are wrong. This is the only offer we will make. There are distorting noises but we want to be clear and say that we will not commit ourselves to something we cannot abide by," Kirchner said.

Listening to him at the Sheraton Hotel were some 400 businessmen and bankers such as Citibank's William Rhodes and representatives of HSBC, Credit Suisse First Boston banks, among other companies, including MetLife, Bridas, Telefónica and Irsa.

Kirchner, who was in New York to attend the United Nations 59th General Assembly annual meeting, said that his government is not ready to make "an unreal offer. We will turn this sad and regrettable page because the people have not suffered what they suffered just to repeat history."

"We trust that there will be a successful (bond) swap, that investors will back us and that, after normalizing the debt situation, Argentina will be able to offer new opportunities," Kirchner said.

"We are on our way to being a predictable country. The challenge is also to attain domestic sustainability and to that end we need to cut inequalities."

Argentina has a mammoth 180 billion-dollar public debt. A deep recession after years of steady growth forced it to declare the world's largest debt default in history in late 2001.

The crisis helped push over half of the population into poverty in a country which decades ago boasted of having one of the best living standards in the world.