Spain seeks Brazil to help on negotiation with Argentina

Spain will not suspend or limit purchases of Argentine products in retaliation for the Kirchner government's decision to nationalize the shares of YPF oil company, but hopes to bring Argentina to the largest possible number of lawsuits in courts. The Deputy Minister of International Cooperation and Spanish for Latin America, Jesús Gracia, came to ask the Brazilian government to help convince Argentina on the importance of the neighboring country to pay for the assets of Repsol. 'We will comply with all standards of the World Trade Organization, "he said. Cristina, in her turn, has announced last week that they would return to Argentina's shares acquired by Spain's Repsol YPF in the process of privatization in decade of 1990 . Prior to the expropriation, the shares were 57.43% of Repsol, 25.46% of the Argentinean Group Petersen and 17.11% listed on the stock exchange. With the expropriation, 26.03% of the shares will be in the hands of the federal state and other 24.99% goes to argentine provinces where the oil and gas are explored. Gracia denied that Spain government will try to delete Argentina of negotiations on a free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur (which also meets Uruguay and Paraguay). But he said that 'it does not work' the EU should look for alternatives, just as an agreement with Brazil. 'It is an agreement that promotes Spain since the beginning, but if anyone does not want it to work, we have to look elsewhere. If not with Mercosur, we have to look for Brazilian government. ' Source: Estadão Translation:EGE