Probe International

(June 26, 2003) Russia will not cancel Iraq’s debt accumulated during the rule of ousted leader Saddam Hussein, the speaker of the State Duma, Gennady Seleznyov, said in remarks published Wednesday.

(June 26, 2003) by Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State "Once we have a better estimate of the true level of Iraq’s debt and its underlying payment capacity, we can move forward to develop a comprehensive strategy to deal with Iraq’s official debt," says Randal Quarles.

(June 25, 2003) Basil al-Rahim, founder of the Washington-based Iraq Foundation, has its own guidelines for rebuilding Iraq, called the "Phoenix Plan." The plan advocates wiping away a big chunk of Iraq’s debts – as was done after World War II for Germany.

(June 23, 2003) On the question of forgiving debts to free up funds for Iraq’s battered infrastructure, World Bank president James Wolfensohn said the common attitude is, "You bombed it. You fix it."

(June 23, 2003) Russia has signalled its willingness to join global efforts to write off or reschedule Iraq’s staggering debt burden. Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov told the Wall Street Journal that Russia would "do its part" to help Iraq.

(June 23, 2003) Chris Gilbert, of the San Francisco Bay Area Jubilee Coalition, responds to a recent Financial Times editorial on Iraq’s debt, that asserts using the notion of "odious debt" as a basis for cancelling debt is unworkable.

(June 22, 2003) An international Iraqi debt commission of financial "wise men" should be established to examine all claims and to disallow debt used for state security or military aggression, write David Mulford and Michael Monderer.

(June 20, 2003) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has not formulated its position concerning the settlement of the Iraqi foreign debt, said IMF deputy managing director Ann Krueger at a press conference.

(June 19, 2003) Iraq’s "debt issue as such" will not be covered at the upcoming World Economic Forum in Amman later this month, says U.S. Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs, Alan Larson.