Kuwait said it accepted an Iraqi request related to reparations imposed by the U.N. Security Council over its 1990 invasion of Kuwait, state news agency KUNA said on Thursday, ahead of discussions in Geneva on the request.

Asked about reports that Iraq had asked to defer payment of the last tranche of its reparations to Kuwait, Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Khaled al-Jarallah (photo) was quoted as saying: “The brothers in Iraq have presented the request formally and unilaterally and Kuwait has accepted and responded to this request.”

A U.N. official said on Wednesday that Iraq, whose economy has been battered by declining oil prices and war with Islamist militants, has requested a one-year deferral of a $4.6 billion reparations payment for destroying Kuwait's oil facilities during its 1990-1991 occupation.

Source: Reuters