Kuwait downplays border tensions

Tensions have flared after calls by Iraqi MPs to reject the UN demarcation of borders

Kuwait’s Deputy Foreign Minister said that nothing out of the ordinary was happening on the KuwaitiIraqi borders.

“The situation is normal and stable on the borders with Iraq and will remain so thanks to the vigilance of the Kuwaiti people and the keenness of the Iraqi side on respecting the sovereignty of the State of Kuwait,” Khalid Al Jarallah told the media on Sunday evening.

“Kuwait’s Speaker Marzouq Al Ganem has discussed the issue with Iraqi Parliament Speaker Salim Al Jabouri who stated that nobody could drive a wedge between the Kuwaiti and Iraqi peoples. Such a statement indicates Iraq’s commitment to respecting Kuwait’s sovereignty,” Al Jarallah said, quoted by Kuwait News Agency (Kuna).

Al Ganem and Al Jabouri met on Friday in Cairo where they were attending the conference of Arab parliaments.

Al Ganem reported that Al Jabouri stressed during their meeting the commitment of Iraq to all international agreements endorsed by the country’s lawmakers.

The Kuwaiti Speaker said the statement was highly significant in curbing attempts to sow sedition between the two neighbours.

Iraqi troops under President Saddam Hussain in August 1990 invaded Kuwait, but were ejected in February 1991.

The demarcation of the borders between the two countries was undertaken under the auspices of the United Nations which later adopted Resolution 833.

Kuwait and Iraq also signed a bilateral agreement in 2012 for the formation of a joint commission to organise navigation, guarantee the safety of Khor Abdullah, a waterway, protect the environment, maintain the inlet and handle fishing boats.