Ammar al-Hakeem, al-Khurafi mull Iraqi-Kuwaiti crisis

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: The head of the Shahid al-Mihrab Foundation for Islamic Call, Ammar al-Hakeem, discussed with the Speaker of the Kuwaiti parliament, Jassem al-Khurafi, the recent crisis between the two countries. “Al-Hakeem discussed with al-Khurafi on Tuesday night (June 9) over the phone the recent crisis between the two countries and ways to patch up differences and to overcome the recent political crisis,” the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council said in a statement on Wednesday received by IraqiNews.com news agency. “The two asserted the strong and deep-rooted relations between the two countries,” it added. Iraqi MPs have called for reparations to Kuwait to be halted, arguing the country shouldn’t be held responsible for the actions of the former regime. But Kuwait has insisted on full payment and said that all U.N. Security Council resolutions related to the 1991 Gulf War which liberated the emirate must be fully complied with. The resolutions require Iraq to satisfy Kuwaiti demands on reparations and the return of property, as well as demarcation of their shared border and the repatriation of the remains of prisoners of war. Iraq currently pays 5% of its oil revenues into a special U.N. fund. Kuwait has received about $13 billion from Iraq but a further $25.5 dollars remains unpaid. Kuwaiti MPs last week urged the government to recall its ambassador, who only took up post last October as the emirate’s first envoy in Baghdad since the August 1990 invasion. President Jalal Talabani had said on Monday (June 8) that the two countries should “address any issues in a way that serves both their interests.” SH (S) 1