Kuwait is keen on having good-neighborly relations with Iraq and coordinating stances on issues of common concern, Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah said.

Sheikh Dr. Mohammad told reporters that Kuwait does not pay due attention to the hostile remarks made by unofficial and irresponsible Iraqi figures. "But to our surprise, an Iraqi official had recently made similar hostile remarks against Kuwait," he noted.

A number of Iraqi MPs have recently attacked Kuwait over a number of marine projects on the Kuwaiti side of the Arabian Gulf.

He explained that the Iraqi government was briefed on the projects, which Kuwait intends to set up on the Arabian Gulf and expressed "no reservations."

"Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki has visited Kuwait a few months ago accompanied by a large delegation and the projects of Abdullah creek and Mubarak Al-Kabir port on the Arabian Gulf were thoroughly mulled," Sheikh Mohammad said, adding "Iraqi Prime Minister did not voice any concern or reservations about them, especially as we told him that these projects will be useful for Iraq's rebuilding."

"Furthermore, the Joint Kuwaiti-Iraqi Committee met and studied the port project in details and the Iraqi side, which included six ministers, also had no reservations." The Kuwaiti top diplomat described the recent Iraqi statements in this regard as "surprising", wondering about the real reasons behind the sudden attack on Kuwait.

"What happened during the last three months? All of a sudden Kuwait was accused of violating Iraq's sovereignty and stealing Iraqi oil! We understand that there are differences between countries but they can't shed doubts on international resolutions and principles that govern relations between the countries," he said.

Sheikh Dr. Mohammed regretted the emergence of this hostile language, which confiscates countries' right to take their national decisions independently, in post-Saddam Iraq.

"We thought this discourse would vanish with the toppling of the treacherous Saddam Hussein regime. We were hoping this language, which confiscated the rights of peoples and nations to live safely and to exercise their sovereignty on their land would not emerge again," he said.

With regard to the next meeting of the Joint Kuwaiti-Iraqi Committee, Sheikh Mohammed hoped to hold meeting with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari soon to determine the time and agenda of the committee's next meeting.

"We are awaiting Iraq's ratification of the minutes of the committee meeting to move to the next stage soon," he said.

 

source: Kuwait News Agency