The Wall Street Journal-20080212-Politics - Economics- In Brief

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Politics & Economics: In Brief

Full Text (203  words)

Russia to Write Off

Most of Iraq's Debt

Russia agreed to write off most of Iraq's debt to Moscow, Russian news agencies reported -- a gesture apparently meant to help Russian companies win contracts in Iraq. The deal, which writes off 93% of Iraq's estimated $12.9 billion of debt, was signed during a visit to Moscow by Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. Iraq will repay the rest within 17 years, according to the reports. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, "We count on launching promising joint projects in the oil and gas and electric-power sectors."

-- Associated Press

Gazprom Gives Reprieve

To Ukraine Over Gas

Russia's state-controlled gas supplier OAO Gazprom gave neighboring Ukraine a reprieve of a few more hours in a debt dispute but still said it would stop sending gas to the country if an agreement isn't reached. The conflict is being watched in European Union countries that get Russian gas through pipelines crossing Ukraine. They fear a repeat of January 2006, when Russia halted gas to Ukraine for several days amid a fierce argument over price increases. Facing a threatened cutoff this morning, officials of Gazprom and Ukraine's natural-gas company, Naftogaz, negotiated for several hours yesterday.

-- Associated Press