Iraqi PM hails debt reduction deal
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq's interim prime minister has welcomed an agreement of the so-called "Paris Club" nations to reduce up to 80 percent of his country's $120 billion international debt but called on Iraq's "Arab brothers" to follow suit.
A statement from Ayad Allawi's office on Monday also said the prime minister "hopes that the Paris Club countries will consider reducing Iraq's debt further."
"The prime minister notes that Iraq's debt burden, while now very significantly reduced, remains significant," the statement said.
"The prime minister looks forward to Iraq's Arab brothers forgiving their debts from Iraq in the very near future, to contribute both to Iraq's and their own security and development."
Russia was the last piece of the puzzle to fall into place Sunday afternoon when it agreed to the U.S.-German plan after Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President George W. Bush huddled on the matter at the APEC summit in Santiago, Chile.
"The Paris Club agreement represents a major international contribution to Iraq's continued political and economic reconstruction," Bush said in a statement issued Sunday afternoon.
"I encourage non-Paris Club creditor nations to agree to comparable debt reduction for Iraq."
German Finance Minister Hans Eichel and U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow hammered out the deal to forgive up to four-fifths of Iraq's debt in three stages over several years.
The first stage of the agreement operates through the Paris Club, while the second and third stages would operate through the International Monetary Fund.
The Paris Club, an informal group of official creditors, is made of 19 permanent member countries -- including the United States, Germany, and other leading economies. It works to find sustainable solutions to payment dilemmas experienced by debtor nations. Paris Club creditors agreed to reschedule debts due them.
The deal was discussed on the sidelines of this weekend's G-20 summit. Eichel spokesman Joerg Mueller did not give details of Russia's agreement.
CNN Berlin Bureau Chief Chris Burns contributed to this report.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
