Kuwaiti govt. stresses keenness on having “good relations” with Iraq

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Sabah al-Salem on Sunday stressed his country’s keenness on “having good relations with neighboring Iraq and quickly solving all problems via the official channels”. The statements were made by Salem to reporters after a meeting with the Kuwaiti parliament’s foreign affairs committee members to discuss Kuwaiti-Iraqi relations in light of recent statements in Kuwait, according to the Kuwaiti news agency (KUNA). “The meeting was fruitful and good as we briefed members of parliament on the nature of relations binding Kuwait and Iraq, particularly in light of some accusations against Kuwait recently,” Salem said. On Saturday, an Iraqi foreign ministry source said that the government of Kuwait has recalled its ambassador in Baghdad Ali al-Mo’emin to discuss recent developments between the two countries. “Kuwait has taken that measure to discuss developments in diplomatic relations between the two countries,” the source told IraqiNews.com news agency. Iraqi-Kuwaiti relations were marred by exchanged tough statements, particularly at the parliamentary levels, after Kuwait officially refused to close the file of compensations paid by Iraq by 5 percent of its oil proceeds. Kuwait has already received $31 billion in compensations for the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and still claims $22 billion. AmR (S) 1