Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05WARSAW1520
2005-03-17 13:44:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Warsaw
Cable title:  

POLAND SUBMITS DETAILS OF IRAQ'S DEBT

Tags:  EFIN EAID PREL PL 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L WARSAW 001520 

SIPDIS


STATE FOR EUR/NCE TARA ERATH AND MICHAEL SESSUMS
TREASURY FOR OASIA MATTHEW GAERTNER AND KAREN MATHIASEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2015
TAGS: EFIN EAID PREL PL
SUBJECT: POLAND SUBMITS DETAILS OF IRAQ'S DEBT

REF: WARSAW 797

Classified By: Classified by DCM Cameron Munter; reasons 1.5b and d.

C O N F I D E N T I A L WARSAW 001520

SIPDIS


STATE FOR EUR/NCE TARA ERATH AND MICHAEL SESSUMS
TREASURY FOR OASIA MATTHEW GAERTNER AND KAREN MATHIASEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2015
TAGS: EFIN EAID PREL PL
SUBJECT: POLAND SUBMITS DETAILS OF IRAQ'S DEBT

REF: WARSAW 797

Classified By: Classified by DCM Cameron Munter; reasons 1.5b and d.


1. (C) The Iraqi Embassy in Warsaw provided us with a copy
of a letter Finance Minister Gronicki sent to his Iraqi
counterpart, Adil Abdul Mahdi, detailing Iraq's outstanding
debt to Poland. According to the Ministry of Finance (MOF),
Iraq owes Poland USDOLS 786,225,209.93 (including USDOLS
309,570,799.67 in interest). MOF broke the total down into
eight separate loans concluded between 1972 and 1990, all
held by the Ministry of Finance, six of which are commodity
credits, and two of which are rescheduling credits.


2. (C) The Iraqi Ambassador confirmed that he has received
no instructions to approach the Polish government on this
issue. He does not expect to receive any until after a new
government in Baghdad is formed.


3. (C) U/S Wieslaw Szczuka told Econoff on March 15 that
the Polish government is still considering its options, and
has made no final decision on how to treat its Iraqi debt.
Minister Gronicki and other MOF officials have earlier noted
that Poland would likely follow Paris Club consensus and
forgive 80 percent of the outstanding debt, although PM Belka
will have to make the final decision.


4. (C) Comment: We are optimistic that the Polish
government will make a decision on how to handle the
outstanding Iraqi debt before it leaves office later this
year. It fits in with this government's broader policy of
resolving as many pending transition issues as possible.
Before Finance is prepared to take this decision to PM Belka,
however, we believe the Ministry is waiting on three issues
to be resolved. First, Finance is focused on finalizing
early repayment of Poland's outstanding Paris Club debt,
which it hopes to complete by March 31. Second, should
Poland agree to forgive 80 percent, GOP officials are still
debating how best to use the remaining 20 percent of the
outstanding debt. Resolving this issue will depend in part
on the third item, which is the formation of a new Iraqi
government. An active approach by a friendly new Iraqi
government is likely to influence the GOP's ultimate
decisions.
Munter


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2005WARSAW01520 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL