(June 10, 2004) There has been intense speculation that the G8 summit will see a dramatic move on Saddam’s $120bn debt, but the G8 countries have not even put the issue on the official agenda.

(June 9, 2004) The Bush administration will push fellow members of the G8 summit in Georgia to forgive Iraq its $120 billion in external debt, the Financial Times said.

(June 15, 2004) President Bush is eager to hand over Saddam Hussein, but Iraq must have adequate security guarantees in place before it can take custody of him, Iraq’s interim president said.

(June 3, 2004) The leaders of the Group of Eight industrial nations next week will be sure to welcome OPEC’s decision to raise oil output and will discuss reducing Iraq’s debt burden, a European diplomatic source said on Thursday.

(May 31, 2004) Australia would forgive Iraq a $600 million debt for wheat shipments in an extraordinary act of generosity to be announced by the federal government this week, the Sunday Telegraph said.

(May 28, 2004) Chancellor’s ‘no’ to sending NATO troops leaves U.S. government reliant on voluntary alliance.

(May 27, 2004) Thomas Dawson, an IMF spokesman, said the institution made no specific recommendation on how much in Iraq’s debt should be forgiven in order put the Iraqi economy on a sustainable basis going forward.

(May 25, 2004) Gerhard Schroder, the German chancellor, yesterday said his country’s offer to forgive a substantial amount of Iraq’s debt was conditional on an interim Iraqi government being given full sovereignty over the country on June 30.

(May 24, 2004) UK-based debt campaigner Jubilee Iraq has highlighted its concerns regarding the release this week of the United Nations’ draft resolution on Iraq, saying a number of the draft’s provisions put to the UN Security Council are relevant to Jubilee Iraq’s work to challenge repayment of Iraq’s odious debt. Citing from the draft, Jubilee Iraq notes:

(May 23, 2004) The United States wants Iraq’s sovereign creditors to write off 80-90 percent of the oil-rich state’s debt but Paris wants to cancel just 50 percent, a French source said on the margins of a G7 meeting on Sunday.

(May 23, 2004) As the debate intensifies over what kind of government will take over Iraq on June 30, one certainty is that the new leadership will have to manage one of the most destabilizing legacies of Saddam Hussein’s rule – a crushing debt burden.

(May 21, 2004) Iraqi officials are seeking to speed up the resolution of the country’s massive debt problem in the hope of receiving more generous terms before the battered economy picks up.

(May 21, 2004) An Iraqi delegation will travel to the United Nations on Wednesday to demand full control of the country’s oil revenues and a cut in war reparations.