Iraq asks creditors to cancel crippling debts

Iraq pressed its creditors to cancel about $60 billion in debts at an international conference yesterday, but two of its biggest lenders, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, sent only junior representatives to hear the call.

The Iraqi delegation, led by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, basked in praise from international leaders lauding the country's economic and political development five years after the United States invaded to topple Saddam Hussein.

The Stockholm conference is the first annual review of the International Compact with Iraq agreed in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh last year, which committed Iraq to implement reforms in exchange for greater international support.