[Illbay]

I get what you're saying, but I have to admit Kudrin has a point. "No one excused us from the SOVIET debt, why are we supposed to forgive the IRAQI's debt?"

This whole "world debt" thing is going to blow up one of these days. People here think war's all about religion and ideology. It's ALWAYS about money.

[kattracks]

"No one excused us from the SOVIET debt, why are we supposed to forgive the IRAQI's debt?"

Fine, then they should shut their pie holes about being so concerned about what's going to happen to Iraq.

The Russians and the others have had nothing but criticism for the US. The looting, the starving people, etc., etc. Now we can see just how deep their "concern" goes.

[maestro]

Your#13)........Correct!

This whole "world debt" thing is going to blow up one of these days. People here think war's all about religion and ideology. It's ALWAYS about money.

Exactly,........It's ALWAYS about which ideology/religion/sociology GETS THE MONEY!

/sarcasm

The 'Devil' is an 'evil' banker!

[kaylar]

I think-not 100% sure-that if the Russians had been able to repudiate the debts of the USSR, they would have also lost other things awarded to that country and not Russia : A UN SC seat, a seat at the G-8 (not suure of the exact timeline there) , various pacts and treaties signed with other nations , etc. That's my best guess as to why the Russians didn't repudiate the USSR's debt : The losses would have outweighed the gains. And the bit about the USSR not paying Imperial Russia's debts is accurate, too, I believe, which adds a touch of hypocrisy .

[JudgemAll]

. "No one excused us from the SOVIET debt, why are we supposed to forgive the IRAQI's debt?"

Simply because the Russian leadership was never tried and is still in power, and because Iraq is bankrupt and does not have to pay.

[JasonC]

They haven't exactly paid their own. No, no one has forgiven their debt. No one has collected on it, either. They've just paid more borrowed money.