UN postpones financial summit until late June

UNITED NATIONS, May 26 - The United Nations rescheduled a summit focused on the financial crisis which will attempt to lay down proposals for a new international financial architecture to June 24-26, a spokesman said on Tuesday.

Enrique Yeves, spokesman for U.N. General Assembly President Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann, said the dates were pushed back from June 1-3 in order to accommodate member states who said they needed more time to negotiate a draft proposal on ways to improve the global financial system.

The summit is called the United Nations Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development. Its aim is to identify emergency and long-term responses to mitigate the impact of the crisis, especially on vulnerable populations.

"The president (D'Escoto) was very reluctant to change the date but after consulting with several member states who said they needed more time to work on the complex issues, he formally approved the change," Yeves said.

U.N. officials have told Reuters on condition of anonymity that no heads of state from developed countries were planning to attend, though leaders from several developing countries have expressed interest in participating.