"The debts issue remains among the matters that the Kuwaiti government will discuss with the parliament to adopt a common position," foreign undersecretary Khaled Al-Jarallah said in a statement to KUNA.
He was reacting to press reports quoting Iraqi foreign undersecretary as saying that Kuwait and Iraq have began contacts to iron out some outstanding issues like debts, compensations and the fixing of border signs.
But Al-Jarallah, who emphasized that Kuwait has always been supporting Iraq at all levels, said officials from Kuwait and Iraq would be meeting in near future under UN sponsorship to discuss compensations.
Iraq is paying compensations for Kuwait for damages caused by Saddam Hussein’s regime seven-month occupation of Kuwait in 1990-91.
Any decision regarding compensations, said Al-Jarallah, "is within jurisdiction of the UN Security Council."
Al-Jarallah, commenting on the border issue, said Kuwait and Iraq were merely discussing conditions of border signs, placed under UN supervision in line with UN resolution 833.
"Maintenance of border signs has not taken place since the signs were fixed because of then existence of the defunct regime as well as conditions in border area at that time," said Al-Jarallah.
However, he added, a UN-supervised committee consisting of Kuwaiti and Iraqi officials would be meeting soon to carrying out maintenance.
This maintenance, he said, required the removal of Iraqi farms which were violating the Kuwaiti borders. The committee is financed by both countries.
The Kuwaiti official underlined that there would not be any talk about border demarcation because this issue has been finalized in line with UN resolution 833, "a matter already emphasized by the Iraqi brothers." Iraqi prime minister Nouri Al-Maliki was quoted by a Kuwaiti newspaper as affirming that borders were Kuwait were demarcated and this issue has been closed.
