Puerto Rico's creditors told a judge Wednesday they intend to continue talks with the government in an effort to resolve the island's $70 billion debt outside of court.

A lawyer for Puerto Rico's federal finanial oversight board told U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain that the two main creditor groups are interested in resolving the issue on the side and will continue to work toward that end.

The U.S. territory filed for bankruptcy earlier this month after two years of talks with creditors failed to produce a deal to resolve the debt crisis.
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As a U.S. territory, Puerto Rico is legally prohibited from filing for bankruptcy, but there are loopholes. Through a rule in Title III of the PROMESA law, Puerto Rico was able to use a bankruptcy-like mechanism to end talks and begin the legal proceedings. Wednesday's hearing was the first between the many parties.