From the AP: France hopes that Airbus and the seven governments which ordered the A400M military transport plane can agree new financing terms to save the troubled program by the end of the week, the defense minister said Monday.

Herve Morin told journalists that the positions of the seven countries – Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and Turkey – and Airbus parent company EADS appear to be converging…

“The discussions are continuing and I think they are going more toward convergence than divergence.”

The aircraft is now four years behind schedule and more than euro5 billion ($7.3 billion) over budget. Morin has said that EADS should shoulder at least as much of the extra burden as the governments…

Morin said the seven defense ministers will discuss the plan on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, starting Thursday. Defense officials will also be meeting in Berlin while French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel host a Franco-German summit in Paris. (photo: AFP/Getty)