THE HAGUE, Nov 25: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Moscow had committed itself to writing off 90 per cent of Iraq's debts, more than the 80 per cent of forgiveness agreed by the Paris Club of sovereign debtors.

"In the framework of the Paris Club we have undertaken ... writing off of Iraqi debts to us," Mr Putin told a news conference after a summit with European Union leaders. The Paris Club agreed on last Sunday, after Russia came on board, to cancel 80 per cent of Iraq's $38.9 billion debt.

The deal ended a dispute between Washington and leading opponents of the US-led Iraq war over how much debt to cancel. Russia opposed the invasion of Iraq, and its firms had signed billions of dollars worth of oil contracts with the former government. -Reuters