Bulgarian News Network, Bulgaria
June 11, 2003

SOFIA — The redemption of a US$1.7 billion debt that Iraq owes to Bulgaria will depend on the Arab country’s post-war recovery, a Bulgarian Foreign Ministry official said Wednesday.

Iraq has run its debt to Bulgaria during the Cold War, when it was a major trade partner of the Balkan country.

“The redemption of the Iraqi debt to Bulgaria depends on the pace of reconstruction of Iraq,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Petko Draganov said.

He addressed a round-table discussion in Sofia about risks that Bulgaria is facing in its economic, political and social development.