UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Argentina is willing to negotiate to avoid a catastrophic default but is waiting for a U.S. judge to approve the country’s request for more time to pay $1.5 billion in bad debts, Argentina’s economy minister said Wednesday.

Five days before the deadline, Economy Minister Axel Kicillof remained defiant in a fiery speech before the U.N. ambassadors to the Group of 77 developing nations, saying complying with the ruling would send his country’s economy into a tailspin.