(April 17, 2003)Chairman of the Duma’s Committee on the State Debt and Foreign Assets, Vladimir Nikitin, called the American proposals for debt relief "more than bizarre". Iraq’s debt to Russia – some "well verified and grounded" $8 billion – is not negotiable.

(April 17, 2003) Outside Iraq, the usual repositories of economic data, like the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund, have scant knowledge of what has been going on inside the country since the 1980s.

(April 17, 2003) Saddam Hussein used much of the borrowed money to pay for his wars against Iran and Kuwait and his repressive forces…But the rules are there: tyrannies may fall, but their debts live on.

(April 17, 2003) Outstanding public-sector loans to Iraq are fast becoming another contentious issue between the US and the so-called coalition of the unwilling. Japan is also an interested player, holding a total of 673 billion yen in outstanding loans to Iraq.

(April 16, 2003) There is no entitlement for France, Germany, Russia and the U.N. They did all in their power to keep Saddam Hussein in power, which makes them accessories to tyranny and war crimes.

(April 15, 2003) If Mr. Snow’s remarks were muddling, those of Mr. Wolfowitz were mischievous. Iraq’s debt problem is a serious issue. It should not get mixed up in political point-scoring.

(April 14, 2003) "American taxpayers are nervous and whimsical, they don’t like their money to be wasted. It’s just a convenient moment to find a scapegoat, a potential sponsor." A Russian perception of Paul Wolfowitz’s proposal to write-off Iraq’s debts.

(April 14, 2003) Mr K—Ühler said it may be too soon to pursue debt forgiveness for Iraq, despite pressure from Washington. "Debt forgiveness for Iraq – for me, this is a bit premature to judge," he said.

(April 14, 2003) Germany’s World War I reparations totaled about twice its gross domestic product (GDP). The debts were never paid in full. They proved to be an impossible burden. Iraq’s debts amount to 15 times its annual GDP of perhaps $25 billion.

(April 14, 2003) Iraq is to be put on a fast track for debt relief as part of a package to rebuild its shattered economy agreed after the world’s leading nations stepped back from the brink of a damaging row over post-war economic reconstruction.

(April 14, 2003) The Saddam Hussein regime simply ignored the debt, but a new government looking to establish commercial credit arrangements around the world would be under immense pressure to pay off Baghdad’s obligations.

(April 14, 2003) "Some people shot, some people stole, and now someone has to pay for that," Putin said in wry response to a reporter’s question about Wolfowitz’s debt proposal. His remarks came after the trilateral talks in St. Petersburg.