Kuwait opposition rejects cancellation of Iraq's debts

Manama: Kuwait's opposition lawmakers are expected to put pressure on the government to resist likely fresh calls by Baghdad to cancel or reduce Iraq's debts, a local daily reported on Sunday.

The move by the MPs comes ahead of a planned visit by the Iraqi President Jalal Talabani to Kuwait City to take part in the national celebrations marking Kuwait's independence, liberation and the Emir's accession to power anniversaries.

According to Al Shahed daily, the Iraqi president is expected to talk in his meetings with Kuwaiti leaders about the cancellation of the debts that Baghdad has to pay as the two neighbours seek to overcome issues resulting from Saddam Hussain's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

Following the liberation of the northern Arabian Gulf emirate, the UN agreed that Iraq should use its oil revenue to pay around $52 billion in compensation to Kuwaiti companies and organizations that suffered losses and damages during the August 1990 - February 1991 occupation.

Baghdad has paid $28 billion, but has been seeking, with the help of Western capitals, to reduce the amount of annual oil revenue it has to set aside for war reparations, primarily to Kuwait.

Al Shahed, quoting sources it did not name, said that the Kuwaiti opposition lawmakers want their government not to make any compromises on the remaining $24 billion and on the around $1.5 billion that Kuwait Airways wants in reparations from Iraqi Airways for the alleged theft of 10 airplanes and spare parts during the invasion.

The lawmakers will put up their pressure under the banner ‘No to cancelling Iraqi debts' and will call for a crucial role for the parliament on the issue, the paper said.

The tense situation between the two countries is an impediment to any negotiation or discussions on the debts, they said.

Last month, the two countries differed over a shootout between an Iraqi fishing boat and a Kuwaiti Coast Guard vessel that left one Kuwaiti serviceman dead. The Kuwaiti Coast Guard ship sank the fishing boat and briefly detained five members of the crew.

Kuwait's coastguards often seize Iraqi fishing boats and detain their fishermen for entering its waters illegally.

This month, Baghdad and Kuwait City said that they agreed on measures to address disputes caused by Iraqi fishermen's entry into what Kuwait says are its territorial waters.