Mr. Speaker, last Saturday, the Managing Director of the IMF said that financial assistance to Russia could be put on hold if that country continued its war with Chechnya.
This comes close on the heels of comments by Russia's former minister of finance, who estimated the cost of the war in Chechnya at $600 million U.S. so far.
Knowing that this IMF loan is being used indirectly to pay for the war in Chechnya, will the Minister of Foreign Affairs undertake to bring pressure to bear on the IMF to withhold the payments promised Russia until there are signs of a negotiated peace?