Leaders of the eight industrialized countries (G-8) were divided over the issue of Iraq's debt, with European states resisting US calls to quickly forgive almost all of it, officials said in Savannah Wednesday.  

A French official, who asked not to be named, told reporters that the G-8 had agreed to forgive a "substantial" part of Iraq's US$120 billion debt but had not set a precise figure.

The United States has called for up to 90 percent of Iraq's debt to be canceled while countries such as France, Russia and Canada are unwilling to go so far.

The official said no precise percentage was included in the draft declaration expected to be adopted by the G-8 leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

A Russian official also said the United States was pressing the G-8 to cancel "a maximum of the debt by the end of 2004" to help the war-ravaged country get back on its feet, but not all countries agreed.

Moscow, which is owed US$8.5 billion in Iraq's debt, prefers "a more-open formula" for dealing with the US$120 billion in debt, the Russian official said.

He said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to cancel 65 percent of the Iraqi debt and is also linking the move to the ability of his country's businesses to operate in Iraq.

The G-8 leaders are meeting in Sea Island, in the US state of Georgia, for this year's summit meeting.

(Xinhua News Agency June 10, 2004)