Carl Bildt puts pressure on Iceland
COPENHAGEN (AFP) - Nordic foreign ministers raised the pressure on Iceland on Thursday to reach a banking payback deal with Britain and the Netherlands, warning a failure could block IMF aid to the crisis-hit island.
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"Our message is that we want to help Iceland but on condition... that there is parliamentary support for the government in Reykjavik on Icesave," Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen told reporters after talks in Copenhagen.
In a referendum last week, Icelanders rejected a deal to repay Britain and the Netherlands billions of euros (dollars) for losses from the collapse of online bank Icesave, but the government has said it will continue negotiating.
Iceland's opposition supported a 'no' vote in the referendum.
"Icesave is the key" to getting more money from the International Monetary Fund, which has so far given Iceland 1.1 billion dollars out of a 2.1-billion dollar loan, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said.
