West German President Richard vonWeizsaecker met Argentine President Raul Alfonsin for talks on
the first day of the German leader's four-day visit.
    Local officials placed great importance on the meeting
because Weizsaecker is considered a key backer here for more
flexible repyament terms for Argentina's 51 billion dlr foreign
debt.
    "I suppose (the debt) will be unavoidable" in talks, said
Juan Carlos Pugliese, speaker of the lower house of the
Argentine Parliament and one of Alfonsin's top political
allies, before the meeting.
    He said that "Germany in particular and most European
countries" have supported more liberal repyament terms for
Argentina's debt, Latin America's third largest.
    An Argentine mission is now in the United States concluding
negotiations on debt repyayment with 11 creditor banks.
 Reuter
