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| Friday, 31 December 2004 |
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US 'open' to debt relief for tsunami victims WASHINGTON, Thursday (AFP) The United States said it was "open" to possible debt relief for countries devastated by the Asian tsunami disaster but was non-commital on Germany's call for a debt moratorium for Somalia and Indonesia. "We're open to all kinds of ideas," Andrew Natsios, administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), told a news conference. But he would not discuss details and said no meeting of the Paris club of 19 main creditor nations had been scheduled. A source in Paris had earlier said the crisis would be raised at a session set for January 12. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder signalled his government would propose a moratorium on debt owed by Indonesia and Somalia, the only two stricken countries to have signed agreements with the Paris Club. President George W. Bush, in his first public appearance since the tsunami struck on Sunday gave no direct response to the German suggestion Wednesday. "We'll look at all requests," he told reporters outside his Texas ranch, where he was holidaying. He said the immediate priority was to assess the short-term needs of those countries battered by the killer tsunami. |
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