Kuwaiti FM: US artillery purchase contract signed

Kuwaiti deputy Premier and foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al- Sabah said on Wednesday that the contract provides for purchasing US artillery at $500 million was "signed."

In a statement to the Kuwaiti daily al-Rai al-Am, the Kuwaiti minister added that the "high defense council has approved the US artillery deal and the contract was signed one or two days before my arrival from Japan "last week."

On Tuesday, al-Ahmad said replying to questions raised by Islamic parliament member Mubarak al-Dewelah who opposed selecting of the US artillery to equip two Kuwaiti contingents that "the higher council for defense approved the contract but did not sign it." Al-Dewelah said these artillery "are not used by the American army and were manufactured especially for Kuwait." It, moreover, do not meet the requirements of the Kuwaiti army, he added.

The paper added that several Islamic and liberal Kuwaiti parliamentarians intend question the minister of defense on this deal. The Kuwaiti government, however, preferred the US artillery rather than British artillery "Desert A.S 90," made by a company affiliates to "G A C Macron", South African artillery "H 6" made by Daniel company and Chinese artillery " B. L. Z 45."