Russian Finance Minister says Iraqi debt not agreed on yet (27/09/05)

Following a meeting in Washington with Iraqi Finance Minister Ali Allawi and Iraqi Central Bank Governor Sinan al-Shabibi, Russian Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin told reporters that the size of Russia's debt had not yet been fully agreed on.

Alexey Kudrin will decrease Iraqi debt

Speaking on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank annual meeting, he said that discussions had been held on the procedure for effecting the decision to write off part of Iraq's debt to Russia.

Kudrin said that the debt reconciliation had been delayed for a number of reasons, including the loss of key documents, and that Russia had responded to these problems with understanding.

He added that now documents had to be exchanged and certain procedures carried out to agree on the final figures.

The issue of writing off Iraqi debt within the framework of the Paris Club has been decided in principle. Originally Baghdad's debt to Russia was estimated at $10.5 billion. Under the terms of this agreement the sum will decrease by 90 per cent.

Source: Itar-Tass