Posted on 06/22/2004 10:36:56 AM PDT by knighthawk
PARIS - France does not support writing off Iraq's nearly $122 billion in debt, though Paris will consider a substantial reduction, French officials said Tuesday.
Iraq's interim finance minister, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, met with Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris to discuss Iraq's debts.
The United States has been trying to persuade international lenders to write off Iraqi debt to help the country's postwar reconstruction.
But France says it supports a substantial reduction of the debt but not by more than half.
"The situation of Iraq, which has considerable potential resources, cannot be compared to other poorer, more indebted countries," said Cecile Pozzo di Borgo, a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman.
"That's why it does not seem possible to us to cancel more than 50 percent, which already represents a considerable effort by the international community," she said.
Iraq owes about $42 billion to members of the Paris Club of creditor countries, with the largest debts owed to Russia, Japan, France and Germany. It owes a further $80 billion to several Arab governments.
World Bank President James Wolfensohn said last year that the United States and other wealthy nations should forgive at least two-thirds of Iraq's debt burden to help the country's economy recover.
Ping
Seems to me these were made to Saddam's Iraq. With a new regime the debts are null and void - or is anybody suggesting that debts the Nazi incurred (1933-1945) should be paid off also?
send the bill to saddam
Russia was required to pay tens of billions in old communist dept from the USSR. As of last year, they were still paying it. Nevertheless, I hope Iraq tells these supporters of Saddam to get lost.
It seems Iraq’s a disaster according to France, but too prosperous to write off their dept…
The fear of which is the substantial motivation of France's "principled" opposition to the war.
Finally a French weak spot........now the State Dept. should tease them,tweak their noses and bring them to heel.
No matter what the amount, this is a victory for Bush, a victory for those who fought for the liberation of Iraq, and, aside from being an admission of being wrong by the French, it will result in a reduction of power for those countries who refused to participate.
No doubt this will be buried on page 13 in the NYT.
France does not support writing off Iraq's nearly $122 billion in debt, though Paris will consider a substantial reduction, "eef zey send us their soiled loincloths."
blackmailing them with those oil for food documents is paying off quite nicely.
Paris will consider a substantial reduction, as long as it's someone other than them.
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