SPACE WIRE
Russia ready to consider forgiving Iraqi debt: Putin
SAINT PETERSBURG (AFP) Apr 11, 2003
 Russian President Vladimir Putin said here Friday that Moscow was ready to look into the possibility of forgiving Iraq's debts, in the wake of the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime.

"We are prepared to look into this question. We are prepared to discuss this," Putin told reporters after talks with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac.

The Saint Petersburg talks came a day after a leading US official suggested that Russia should forget about ever winning back its debts from Iraq.

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