Argentina meets with vulture funds in NY

US court appointed mediator in the Argentine debt crisis Daniel Pollack leaves the US Federal Courthouse in New York.

Argentina’s and holdout hedge funds’ representatives met today at a hearing called by the court-appointed special mediator Daniel Pollack, in New York, in their first face-to-face encounter in a race against the clock to reach a settlement before next Wednesday, as ordered by US Judge Thomas Griesa.

The meeting was originally scheduled for yesterday, but according to Mr. Pollack Argentina’s defence could not make it in time to the meeting that had been set for yesterday at 11 a.m.

Both parties arrived in the mediator’s office on the 27th floor at 245 Park Avenue around 1.30 p.m. (Argentinean time).

The Argentine delegation was formed by officials from the Economy Minister: Treasury Procurer Angelina Abbona, Finance Secretary Pablo López and Legal and Administrative Secretary Federico Thea.

This is the first time representatives of the parties involved in the 1.3 billion dollar legal dispute sit at the negotiating table face-to-face, having both only met separately with mediator Pollack.