Saudi Arabia said it is still negotiating with Iraq over writing off billions of dollars owed it by the war-torn country, and major creditors Kuwait and Russia failed to offer immediate debt relief -- a key goal of an ambitious blueprint launched to stabilize Iraq.
The absence of major commitments to reduce Iraq's burdensome debt was a disappointment on Thursday at a major regional conference in the Egyptian resort aimed at showing support for Iraq -- and a sign that some, particularly Sunni Arab, nations are still keeping their distance from Iraq's Shiite-led government.
Still, the Iraqi government, the UN and many of the more than 60 nations and organizations gathered here hailed the launch of the blueprint as a milestone.
The International Compact with Iraq sets ambitious benchmarks to achieve a stable, united, democratic Iraq within five years. It defines international help for Iraq -- including debt relief -- but also sets tough commitments on the Baghdad government, particularly carrying out reforms aimed at giving Iraq's Sunni Arabs a greater role in the political process.
It was an initiative of Iraq's first elected government, launched soon after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki took office last June and strongly backed by the UN.
The US has stressed the Iraqi role in organizing the conference, but US diplomats and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's advisers have crisscrossed the globe and worked hard to increase support, particularly among Arab nations.
After delegates backed the compact on Thursday by acclamation with a round of applause, a smiling Rice approached UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, saying: "You did a great job. This is a wonderful day for all of us."
But the debt issue loomed large over the meeting's unfinished business.
The Paris Club of affluent lender nations has already written off US$100 billion of Iraq's debt -- most from former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's war against Iran in the 1990s.
But the government still owes a huge amount. Iraq's finance minister put the total remaining at roughly US$50 billion, but the numbers vary and in some cases are still not resolved -- with some estimates as high as US$62 billion.
Al-Maliki opened the conference urging ``all our friends ... to forgive our debts and allow us to launch our reconstruction and development.''
But the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia -- a major lender -- made no immediate public pledge. Saud al-Faisal said only that his country was in talks with Iraq "to have an appropriate solution to debts in line with rules of the Paris Club," which calls for forgiving at least 80 percent of Iraq's debts.
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