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Iraqi PM Begs for Debt Forgiveness

US, Iran, Syria to cross paths at Egypt summit

By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff

Posted May 3, 2007 7:52 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is begging other nations to write off Iraq's debt, saying the country needs reconstruction funds. He spoke today at a regional summit that will feature the first high-level talks between the U.S. and Syria since 2005; prospects of Secretary of State Rice sitting down with her Iranian counterpart are far less certain.

Saudi Arabia has pledged to forgive 80 percent of Iraqi debt, but in a sign of the nations' worsening relations, the Saudi foreign minister said only that discussions are ongoing. Russia, another creditor, is eyeing drilling rights to Iraq's juicy oil fields. Meanwhile, hopes for a thaw in the 27-year-old U.S.-Iraq standoff appeared slim.

Senior officials are seated during their meeting, in preparation for the Expanded Ministerial Conference for the Neighbors of Iraq at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, Wednesday, May 2, 2007. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon are co-chairing the two day Expanded Ministerial...
Senior officials are seated during their meeting, in preparation for the Expanded Ministerial Conference for the Neighbors of Iraq at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, Wednesday, May 2, 2007....   (Associated Press)
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki attends to the Iraq conference at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt Thursday, May 3, 2007. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called on all countries Thursday to forgive his country's foreign debts on the opening day of the Iraq conference. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki attends to the Iraq conference at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt Thursday, May 3, 2007. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called on all countries Thursday...   (Associated Press)
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, right, talks across the table to Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit , not seen, at the Iraq conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt Thursday May 3 2007. (AP Photo/Nasser Nuri, Pool)
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, right, talks across the table to Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit , not seen, at the Iraq conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt...   (Associated Press)
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, center, meets with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, right, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, far left, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh, 2nd left, with an unidentified interpreter, 2nd right, on the eve of the International Compact with Iraq Conference, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt...
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, center, meets with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, right, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, far left, Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh, 2nd left,...   (Associated Press)
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, left, meets with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, right, as an unidentified interpreter, center, looks on, on the eve of the International Compact with Iraq Conference, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt Wednesday, May 2, 2007. Rice acknowledged international resistance to new financial and political...
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, left, meets with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, right, as an unidentified interpreter, center, looks on, on the eve of the International Compact with Iraq...   (Associated Press)
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U.S. official: Rice to meet with Syrian minister
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World • US

 
Iraq • Saudi Arabia • Syria • Nouri al-Maliki • Condoleezza Rice • United States • debt • Iraq war

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