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 Pakistan's finance minister said on Friday the South Asian nation was seeking debt relief from bilateral creditors in the wake of devastating flooding but emphasised the government would not seek any relief from commercial banks or Eurobond creditor.

Pakistan's bonds had slumped to just half their face value throughout the day after the Financial Times said a United Nations development agency was urging the cash-strapped country to restructure its debt.

Devastating floods engulfed large swathes of Pakistan this month, killing more than 1,500 people and causing damage estimated at $30 billion, fanning fears that Pakistan would not meet its debts. 

"Given the climate-induced disaster in Pakistan, we are seeking debt relief from bilateral Paris Club creditors," Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said in a Tweet. "We are neither seeking, nor do we need, any relief from commercial banks or Eurobond creditors."

A memorandum the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)is set to hand Pakistan's government this week says its creditors should consider debt relief in the wake of the floods, according to the Financial Times.

The memorandum further proposed debt restructuring or swaps, in which creditors would forego some repayments in exchange for Pakistan's agreement to invest in climate change-resilient infrastructure, the paper said.

Neither the foreign office in Islamabad or a UNDP spokesperson in Pakistan immediately responded to Reuters' request for comment on the memorandum. The country's finance and information ministers could also not be reached.

The bond market reaction on Friday strengthened fears of another default by Pakistan, hammering its international market government debt.

One of the main sovereign bonds due for repayment in 2024 slumped more than 10 cents to about 50 cents on the dollar , while another due in 2027 fell to about 45 cents. .

Miftah Ismail had told a Reuters interview earlier this week that there was no chance of a credit default risk.

The government needs to pay $1 billion on bonds maturing in December. It has interest payments worth around $0.6 billion for the 2022-23 fiscal year but the next full bond redemption is not until April 2024.

Miftah said in Friday's Tweet that the $1 billion bond would be paid on time and in full.

DEBT RELIEF

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also appealed on Friday to rich nations for immediate debt relief, saying what had been done was commendable, but adding, "It's far from meeting our needs."

Sharif, who along with Ismail is in New York to attend the U.N. General Assembly, told Bloomberg TV that Pakistan had taken up the debt relief issue with U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres and world leaders.

"We have spoken to European leaders and other leaders to help us in Paris club, to get us a moratorium," he said, referring to rich nation creditors.

Sharif and finance minister Ismail said they had also taken up the relief issue with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

Ismail said the IMF has "almost agreed" to the request for easing the conditions of Pakistan's $7 billion programme that was resumed in July after being delayed for months.

"They've said almost yes," he told local Pakistani Dunya News TV in New York a day after Sharif met the IMF's managing director.

The IMF's representative in Islamabad didn't respond to a request for comment.

The country of 220 million would not be able to stand on its feet, Sharif added, "unless we get substantial relief".

He said Pakistan would also seek relief from long-time ally China, to which it owes about 30% of its external debt.

Both Pakistan's government and Guterres have blamed the flooding on climate change. (Reuters)

The United States will provide an additional $327 million in aid to Afghanistan to shore up humanitarian assistance, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday.

"This assistance from the United States will continue to support the scaled-up humanitarian response in Afghanistan and neighboring countries through international humanitarian organizations," Blinken said in a statement. (Reuters)

Russia accused the United States on Saturday of "playing with fire" around Taiwan while China said it will press on working for "peaceful reunification" with the democratically-governed island and pledged to take forceful steps to oppose any external interference, a thinly-veiled reference to Washington.

Tensions over Taiwan between Washington and Beijing have soared after a visit there in August by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, which was followed by large-scale Chinese military drills as well as a pledge by U.S. President Joe Biden to defend the Chinese-claimed island.

Weeks before Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine in February, he and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping declared a "no limits" partnership, inking a promise to collaborate more against the West.

Putin's top diplomat Sergei Lavrov in his Saturday address to the United Nations General Assembly targeted Washington's Taiwan stance as well as the Western sanctions on Moscow over the war in Ukraine.

"They're playing with fire around Taiwan. On top of that, they're promising military support to Taiwan," Lavrov said.

Putin explicitly backs China over Taiwan. "We intend to firmly adhere to the principle of 'One China'," Putin said last week. "We condemn provocations by the United States and their satellites in the Taiwan Strait."

Asked last week in a CBS 60 Minutes interview whether U.S. forces would defend Taiwan, Biden replied: "Yes, if in fact, there was an unprecedented attack."

The statement was his most explicit to date about committing U.S. troops to the defend the island. It also appeared to go beyond a long-standing U.S. policy of "strategic ambiguity," which does not make clear whether the United States would respond militarily to an attack on Taiwan.

Speaking moments before Lavrov, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing would continue to work for "peaceful reunification" with Taiwan, and it would combat "separatist activities" towards Taiwan independence while taking forceful steps to oppose any external interference.

"Only by resolutely forestalling separatist activities can we forge a true foundation for peaceful reunification. Only when China is completely reunified, can there be enduring peace across the Taiwan Strait," he said.

His comments come a day after a 90 minute-long meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in New York, their first talks since Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August.

After the meeting, China accused the United States of sending "very wrong, dangerous signals" on Taiwan. Blinken told Wang maintenance of the peace and stability of Taiwan was vitally important, a senior Biden administration official told reporters.

China sees Taiwan as one of its provinces. Beijing has long-vowed to bring Taiwan under its control and has not ruled out the use of force to do so.

Taiwan's democratically-elected government strongly objects to China's sovereignty claims and says only the island's 23 million people can decide its future.

CHINA'S UKRAINE WARNING

Wang said China supported all efforts conducive to the peaceful resolution of the "crisis" in Ukraine, but cautioned against a potential spillover of the war.

"The fundamental solution is to address the legitimate security concerns of all parties and build a balanced, effective and sustainable security architecture," Wang said in his address.

"We call on all parties concerned to keep the crisis from spilling over and protect the legitimate rights and the interests of developing countries."

China has criticized Western sanctions against Russia but stopped short of endorsing or assisting in the military campaign.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last week said China's leader Xi Jinping had concerns about Ukraine. (Reuters)

Australia is aiming for a stable relationship with China despite differences, especially on trade, Australia's foreign minister said, as she called on Beijing to use its influence as a great power to help end the war in Ukraine.

Australia's ties with its largest trading partner are at a low after disputes over a number of issues, including the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, trade and Australian accusations of Chinese interference.

"I think it is a long road on which many steps will have to be taken by both parties to a more stable relationship," Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong told reporters after meeting her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on Thursday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

"In terms of issues of difference, obviously first amongst them is the issue of trade blockages, and that is the issue I focussed on at the outset," she said.

In the meeting, the Chinese minister emphasised the importance of stable bilateral ties, which he said ought to be more resilient and not be prone to "accidents" given 50 years of diplomatic relations, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry on Saturday.

China is willing to "properly resolve differences and promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations", Wang said.

Wong, who said the meeting was constructive, also urged China, as one of the five permanent, veto-wielding members of the U.N. Security Council (P5), to use its influence to help end the Ukraine crisis.

"China is a great power," she said. "We encourage China as a P5 member with a special responsibility to uphold the U.N. charter to use its influence to end the war."

She said Russia's invasion of Ukraine was illegal and President Vladimir Putin's threat to use nuclear weapons was "unthinkable and irresponsible".

Wong said she raised with Wang the issue of Australian journalist Cheng Lei and blogger Yang Hengjun, who have been detained in China and face espionage charges.

Thursday's meeting, the second of the two diplomats in three months, comes as Australia's recently elected Labor government looks to rebuild ties after a sharp deterioration during the term of the previous conservative government.

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said this week "there was a belligerence in the way in which the former government spoke", and his government was looking to change the tone. (Reuters)