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James Baker Says France Wants to Work With U.S. to Ease Iraqi Debt

Aired December 16, 2003 - 07:42   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: This just in to CNN. A meeting has ended between U.S. Special Envoy James Baker and French President Jacques Chirac. They emerged from their meeting, as you can see there, and shook hands. Special Envoy Baker made a short statement. Let's listen to some of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES BAKER, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: We had a very, very, I think, fruitful discussion with the president, and we are going, as you all know, probably we leave this evening. We'll leave right away for Berlin, where we expect to meet with Chancellor Schroeder.

We discussed the importance of reducing Iraq's debt in order to give the Iraqi people a chance at freedom and prosperity, and I think that we are agreed that it is important to reduce this debt within the Paris Club, if at all possible, in the year 2004. And I think that we basically have an agreement on that -- on the parameters of that statement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Mr. Baker will now be leaving to Germany to meet with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. And he'll also continue on to Italy and Russia.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.




Iraqi Debt>


Aired December 16, 2003 - 07:42   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: This just in to CNN. A meeting has ended between U.S. Special Envoy James Baker and French President Jacques Chirac. They emerged from their meeting, as you can see there, and shook hands. Special Envoy Baker made a short statement. Let's listen to some of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES BAKER, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: We had a very, very, I think, fruitful discussion with the president, and we are going, as you all know, probably we leave this evening. We'll leave right away for Berlin, where we expect to meet with Chancellor Schroeder.

We discussed the importance of reducing Iraq's debt in order to give the Iraqi people a chance at freedom and prosperity, and I think that we are agreed that it is important to reduce this debt within the Paris Club, if at all possible, in the year 2004. And I think that we basically have an agreement on that -- on the parameters of that statement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Mr. Baker will now be leaving to Germany to meet with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. And he'll also continue on to Italy and Russia.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.




Iraqi Debt>