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Russia Blames Loan Delay on West; Chechen War Draws Fire From U.S.

MOSCOW -- Russia accused the International Monetary Fund of withholding money because of political pressure from Western governments opposed to its war in Chechnya.

Russian officials said they learned Tuesday that the IMF would further delay disbursal of a $640 million (624.3 million euro) loan originally due in September that the government had hoped to receive later this month. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the pretext for delay was that Russia failed to fulfill loan criteria. "We disagree with this," Mr. Putin...

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