Good News! Update on Article VII Kuwait, Iraq to reach war reparations agreement
Thursday, 09 July 2009
Kuwait- Ahmed Abdullah
The long standing fight between neighboring countries Iraq and Kuwait over the wars they have endured seemed to come to an end Wednesday as the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament announced his country has reached a preliminary settlement with Kuwait.
In a visit to Kuwait to discuss the issue of compensation for Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait, Iraqi Parliament Speaker Ayad al-Samarrai suggested that Kuwait should invest the monetary compensation of $25 million it is to get from Iraq for its 1990 invasion in different development projects in Iraq.
"If this proposal is adopted, it will be in the interest of both countries," he said.
Kuwaiti officials who met with Samarrai did not object to the proposal. Kuwait has demanded that Baghdad to pay for its former president Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion.
Samarrai stressed the sincere wish of Iraqi MPs to establish strong ties with Kuwait and the effort the parliament has been exerting to solve any pending problems to reach a settlement agreeable to both countries.
The failure of Iraq to pay the required compensation will subject Iraq to sanctions as the U.N. will not remove it from the special regulations listed under Chapter Seven of the U.N. charter.
Debts vs. reparations
" These are two different things. Debts are a bilateral issue between Iraq and Kuwait, whereas reparations are an international issue related to Security Council resolutions "
Mohamed al Sabah, Kuwaiti FM
However while Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s demand that Kuwait drops war reparations following the example of other European countries, Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Dr. Mohamed al-Sabah said in a press statement that debts and reparations should not be confused.
"These are two different things," Sabah said. "Debts are a bilateral issue between Iraq and Kuwait, whereas reparations are an international issue related to Security Council resolutions."
However Sabah added that Samarrai's visit to Kuwait delivered the message of a wish to consolidate relations between the two countries.
And he refused to call the latest negotiations between Iraq and Kuwait held in Jordan a failure and stressed that the meetings were under the umbrella of the U.N.
Kuwaiti opposition MPs expressed their reservations about Kuwait's policy towards Iraq. MP Mossalam al-Barak objected to forming joint Kuwaiti-Iraqi committees and said that he told Samarrai that hatred of Kuwait has become part of Iraqi culture.
In response to statements by Jassem al-Kharafi, speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly, who said that Kuwait is keen on removing Iraq after resolving the pending issues, MP Ahmed al-Saadoun said no one can remove Iraq from Chapter Seven.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/07/09/78322.html
Thursday, 09 July 2009
Kuwait- Ahmed Abdullah
The long standing fight between neighboring countries Iraq and Kuwait over the wars they have endured seemed to come to an end Wednesday as the Speaker of the Iraqi Parliament announced his country has reached a preliminary settlement with Kuwait.
In a visit to Kuwait to discuss the issue of compensation for Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait, Iraqi Parliament Speaker Ayad al-Samarrai suggested that Kuwait should invest the monetary compensation of $25 million it is to get from Iraq for its 1990 invasion in different development projects in Iraq.
"If this proposal is adopted, it will be in the interest of both countries," he said.
Kuwaiti officials who met with Samarrai did not object to the proposal. Kuwait has demanded that Baghdad to pay for its former president Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion.
Samarrai stressed the sincere wish of Iraqi MPs to establish strong ties with Kuwait and the effort the parliament has been exerting to solve any pending problems to reach a settlement agreeable to both countries.
The failure of Iraq to pay the required compensation will subject Iraq to sanctions as the U.N. will not remove it from the special regulations listed under Chapter Seven of the U.N. charter.
Debts vs. reparations
" These are two different things. Debts are a bilateral issue between Iraq and Kuwait, whereas reparations are an international issue related to Security Council resolutions "
Mohamed al Sabah, Kuwaiti FM
However while Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s demand that Kuwait drops war reparations following the example of other European countries, Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Dr. Mohamed al-Sabah said in a press statement that debts and reparations should not be confused.
"These are two different things," Sabah said. "Debts are a bilateral issue between Iraq and Kuwait, whereas reparations are an international issue related to Security Council resolutions."
However Sabah added that Samarrai's visit to Kuwait delivered the message of a wish to consolidate relations between the two countries.
And he refused to call the latest negotiations between Iraq and Kuwait held in Jordan a failure and stressed that the meetings were under the umbrella of the U.N.
Kuwaiti opposition MPs expressed their reservations about Kuwait's policy towards Iraq. MP Mossalam al-Barak objected to forming joint Kuwaiti-Iraqi committees and said that he told Samarrai that hatred of Kuwait has become part of Iraqi culture.
In response to statements by Jassem al-Kharafi, speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly, who said that Kuwait is keen on removing Iraq after resolving the pending issues, MP Ahmed al-Saadoun said no one can remove Iraq from Chapter Seven.
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2009/07/09/78322.html
Iraq takes aim to be removed from Chapter VII 