Argentine holdout creditor urges talks as crisis looms large

Aurelius Capital Management, one of the lead holdout creditors seeking to settle with Argentina over sovereign debt payments from its 2002 default, said yesterday the government faces a new crisis on July 30 unless it engages in real talks.

Argentine officials and the holdout investors met separately with a court-appointed mediator on Friday, emerging from his offices after five hours of talks, with no resolution and no further discussions scheduled. Both sides have ramped up the rhetoric to explain why they are on one level eager to negotiate and on another at pains to show why the other side is not engaging.

“Aurelius, together with other pari passu plaintiffs, has done everything it can to negotiate with the government of Argentina, to no avail,” Aurelius said in a statement. “Argentine officials refuse to meet with us or even negotiate with us indirectly. Sadly, this approach gambles with the livelihoods and futures of the Argentine people.”