Japan plans no bilateral debt talks with Argentina

TOKYO, March 23 (Reuters) - Japan does not plan any bilateral negotiation with Argentina on restructuring the country's roughly $6.3 billion debt to the Paris Club of creditor nations, a senior Japanese finance ministry official said on Friday.

"We will act within the framework of the Paris Club," the official told Reuters. "We do not plan any bilateral talks with Argentina on this matter," he added.

Argentina wants to renegotiate its Paris Club debt, which is a remnant from the country's 2001-02 financial meltdown.

Nearly 70 percent of Argentina's Paris Club debt is with Germany, Japan and Spain.

But talks between Argentina and the Paris Club have been protracted partly because of President Nestor Kirchner's attempts to persuade Club members that Argentina does not need oversight from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Japanese official declined to comment specifically on the IMF involvement, but Paris Club rules say that if Argentina wants to renegotiate its debt with the Club, it must first agree on a programme with the IMF.

Argentine Economy Minister Felisa Miceli told Reuters earlier this week that her government is awaiting word from the Paris Club on whether it would need an accord with the IMF to restructure its debt.

Argentine officials have repeatedly said they have made a proposal to the Club with terms to start repaying the defaulted debt. But several diplomatic and other sources familiar with the situation have told Reuters that no offer has been made.

The Paris Club is an informal group of official creditors that includes the United States and other members of the Group of Seven rich nations.