(2003-10-20) -- U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan announced today that three of Iraq's major creditors have reached a "compromise in principle" which should start the flow of international aid money to rebuild Iraq.

Under the terms of the deal, France, Germany and Russia would match the U.S. contribution of $20 billion dollars to the reconstruction of Iraq if 15 percent of the funds are used to restore public statues of Saddam Hussein, and if the deposed dictator's face returns to Iraqi currency.

"They're largely symbolic concessions," said Mr. Annan. "But these three nations previously loaned Saddam Hussein billions of dollars because he seemed to be a man of action, a man in control, a man with whom they could do business. Seeing Saddam's image again will give them a nostalgic sense of security that they don't get from a blossoming representative democracy."

The defunct Saddam regime still owes roughly $127 billion in public foreign debt, not including war reparations and private debt. So far, the entire European Union has pledged $230 million to reconstruction of Iraq, and Russia has said it would do something to help.