Kuwaiti parliamentarians on Sunday reiterated calls for Iraq to pay its debts and war reparations imposed by the United Nations (UN) to strengthen ties between the two nations. Kuwaiti and Iraqi lawmakers exchanged heated statements after the Iraqis demanded Kuwait to pay compensation for contributing to the US-led war in Iraq in 2003, while the Kuwaitis cautioned Iraq on its attempt to break away from the UN-imposed compensations. In a move to douse the escalating tension between the two countries, HH the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah urged the Kuwaiti MPs to refrain from issuing provocative statements. He asked the lawmakers to remain calm and wise while waiting for a meeting with the foreign affairs minister who highlighted details of the Iraqi file Sunday.
After his meeting with 40 lawmakers on Sunday, Deputy Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Dr Mohammed Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah disclosed "we deliberated on issues concerning Iraq and Kuwait. During my meeting with the Iraqi foreign minister, we agreed on the need to silence those who are trying to weaken ties between the two countries. These people are also trying to disrupt the political setup in Iraq," he added. "Kuwait went into war to liberate Iraq and regain its position in the region. We dream of seeing a new Iraq that is peaceful and abides by international resolutions," said Sheikh Mohamed Al-Sabah, affirming he discussed updates with his Iraqi counterpart and they agreed that the Kuwait-Iraq Joint Committee should hold an emergency meeting to look into the pending issues through official channels.
"MPs stressed the need to deal with seemingly trivial matters before these issues blow out of proportion. They were also keen on maintaining good ties with Iraq," Sheikh Mohamed Al-Sabah said when asked about results of the meeting. Meanwhile, Chairman of the parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee MP Marzouq Al-Ghanem asserted "payment of compensations and debts to Kuwait is essential for Iraq to get out of Chapter Seven." He said the Kuwaiti parliamentarians hope the Iraqi government will strictly abide by the directives of the UN. He added the ministers and MPs unanimously agreed on the importance of UN's supervision in addressing the problem. "We're not asking much. We only demand proper implementation of UN resolutions," he explained.
Al-Ghanem disclosed Kuwaiti Ambassador to Iraq Ali Al-Momen lauded the Iraqi officials' commitment to resolve pending issues between the two countries. "We don't want to escalate tension and we will not respond to provocative statements," he declared, obviously referring to the statements of some Iraqi officials who demanded demarcation of land and boundaries between Kuwait and Iraq. Asked about the alleged intension of the US to help Iraq get out of Chapter Seven, Al-Ghanem explained "I'm not authorized to talk on behalf of the US. Kuwait is not against this move but Iraq should settle its debts to Kuwait before getting out of the disputed chapter."
On the other hand, MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei warned the reopening of Iraqi-Kuwaiti borders is like "playing with fire", pointing out the issue has been settled through internationally approved resolutions. Al-Tabtabaei went on to say "the political officials in Iraq wasted millions of dinars in corruption rather than providing the needs of their nation and paying its debts. They should be charged for corruption and damaging infrastructure ". In April, Kuwaiti officials said Iraq should pay the oil-rich country $25.5 billion to compensate for damages caused by the seven-month Iraqi occupation of Kuwait under the regime of Saddam Hussein, in addition to debts amounting to $16 billion.
Agencies add:
Iraqi and Kuwaiti officials are to meet soon to discuss a row over UN resolutions adopted after Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of the emirate, the Kuwaiti foreign minister said on Sunday. "I have agreed with Iraqi Foreign Minister (Hoshyar Zebari) to hold an urgent meeting of the Iraq-Kuwait joint commission to discuss all issues through official channels," Sheikh Mohammed al-Sabah told reporters, without setting any date. He was speaking after meeting Kuwaiti MPs to discuss the latest row over Iraqi calls for an easing of the two-decade-old UN sanctions that provide for multi-billion dollar reparations payments to its far richer Arab neighbour.
But Kuwait insists there should be no change in the Security Council's position until its resolutions have been fully complied with.
Members of parliament in the two countries have traded accusations, with Iraqi MPs urging Kuwait to forgive tens of billions of dollars in reparations and debt, and also renegotiate the demarcation of the border. Iraq currently pays five percent of its oil revenues to a special UN fund. Kuwait has received about $13 billion from Iraq but a further $25.5 billion remains unpaid. Kuwaiti MPs had urged the government to recall its ambassador, who only took up post last October as the emirate's first envoy in Baghdad since the 1990 invasion.
© Arab Times 2009
