Nicaragua is shopping for international aid for its incoming democratic government, and U.S. officials say they'll have a proposal ready to send President Bush within two weeks. Representatives of President-elect Violeta Chamorro, declaring their intention to seek aid from Japan and Western Europe, said Monday the Soviet Union has agreed to continue the economic assistance it gave to the Sandinista regime of President Daniel Ortega. Pedro Chamorro, son of the newly elected Nicaraguan leader, told reporters at the State Department: ``The Soviets assure us that they are going to help Nicaragua; they are going to honor their commitments.'' Commenting after a meeting with Secretary of State James A. Baker III and other ranking officials, Chamorro said that while Soviet arms are no longer needed or wanted, continued imports of Soviet oil are vital to Nicaragua's recovery. Chamorro and other political and economic advisers to Mrs. Chamorro plan further talks with government officials and with representatives of international lending institutions. Bernard Aronson, assistant secretary of state for inter-American affairs, said a package of recommendations will be sent to Bush within the next two weeks, spelling out what the United States can do to help. The U.S. economic embargo imposed against the Sandinista regime likely will be lifted before Mrs. Chamorro's inauguration as president on April 25, Aronson said. A senior State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that to clear the way for U.S. aid to Nicaragua, Congress must agree to waive a law barring new assistance to a nation already in debt to the United States. He said there will be concerns about setting a precedent but added: ``I think there is a general recognition in both houses of Congress and in both parties that Nicaragua needs some immediate help.'' Chamorro and two other advisers to the new government _ Alfredo Cesar and Francisco Mayorga _ said no requests were made for a specific level of U.S. aid. Dollar figures will be discussed later, they said. Chamorro and Mayargo said the situation is complicated by the fact that the Sandinista government held economic data as a state secret. As a result, the full dimensions of Nicaragua's needs may not be known for some time, they said. Mayorga said, however, that ``hundreds of millions of dollars'' will be sought from all sources, including the United States. ``We expect the entire international community to contribute,'' he said. The Bush administration made clear that it also expects substantial help for Nicaragua from the international community, including Japan and Europe. ``The aid question is being worked on currently,'' said White House spokesman Marlin Fitzwater. ``We have optimism that the European allies, as well as the Soviet Union and Japan, are willing to help.'' Mrs. Chamorro's government _ which defeated Ortega and his leftists at the polls on Feb. 25 _ will replace the Sandinistas, whose overthrow the United States was unable to accomplish with military support for Contra rebels. Although the administration has pledged meaningful U.S. aid levels for Nicaragua, the final scope of the assistance package likely will be dictated by budget constraints and the needs of other fledgling democracies emerging in Eastern Europe. Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that handles foreign aid, told reporters: ``There is a long line forming outside the door on that score. ... We need to be cautious about the kind of direct financial investments we are going to be asked to make at a time when we have limited resources.''
