Argentina and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced Saturday that progress has been made in their talks about a new agreement to address the Latin American country's debt.

The announcement came days after the IMF said the country's debt situation had become "unsustainable." It also came after a meeting between Argentine Economy Minister Martin Guzman and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Argentina's Ministry of Economy said in a statement that Guzman spoke to Georgieva about "the intention to begin an Article IV Consultation," which includes an annual review of the country's economy.

Guzman said the measure is "a valuable step that will deepen mutual understanding between the Argentine government and the IMF authorities on the way to have a new program."

Georgieva said her meeting with Guzman was "fruitful" and expressed her support for Argentine President Alberto Fernandez "to stabilize the economy and to reduce poverty."

Georgieva added that she "welcomed the Argentine authorities' commitment to continue to deepen our engagement including through an Article IV Consultation and steps toward a Fund-supported program in the future."

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday also welcomed Argentina's talks with the International Monetary Fund after the heavily indebted country said it would launch consultations that could lead to a new funding program.

"There are many issues that still need to be addressed," Mnuchin said in an interview. "The conversations that they're having with the IMF are preliminary but are moving in the right direction."

The country, which has defaulted on debt obligations eight times so far, is facing tough negotiations with creditors and the IMF to restructure around 100 billion U.S. dollars in debt that the Argentine government says it cannot pay unless given time to revive stalled economic growth.

Argentina and the IMF agreed to a stand-by deal in mid-2018 for the release of around 56.7 billion U.S. dollars, of which the country has received about 44.1 billion dollars in disbursements.

(With input from Xinhua, Reuters)