Edited for brevity.
U.S. special envoy James A. Baker III won German and French agreement Tuesday to work for Iraqi debt relief, but Washington did not say whether it would lift the ban on firms from those nations bidding for lucrative reconstruction projects in Iraq. "Germany and the United States, like France, are ready not only for debt restructuring but also for substantial debt forgiveness toward Iraq," German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s spokesman Bela Anda said in a statement after talks with Baker. The German statement indicated that the United States also was prepared to relieve debt, and that levels would be decided by the Paris Club of creditor nations. However, statements from the White House earlier were noncommittal.
Iraq owes some $40 billion to the United States, France, Germany, Japan, Russia and others in the 19-nation Paris Club. Other countries and private creditors are owed at least another $80 billion. Russia, which is also on Baker’s planned tour, has so far ruled out any outright forgiveness of the $8 billion Iraq owes it and says any restructuring must be through the Paris Club. "Iraq is not a poor country," Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said last week. |