AL chief calls on Iraq to apologize to Kuwait over the invasion

Arab League Secretary General Esmat Abdul Meguid has called on Iraq to apologize to Kuwait over invading its territories on August 2, 1990. He stressed the "need of Baghdad's commitment to the implementation of international legitimacy resolutions."

Abdul Meguid also called on the international community to put an end to the sufferings of the Iraqi people and lifting the sanctions imposed for nine years.

In a meeting with journalists in Amman on Sunday, the AL chief said, "Iraq was responsible for what had happened in the Gulf War, and it has to apologize for Kuwait because there are sensitive matters that are difficult for the Kuwaitis to forget."

He indicated that an "apology is not a strange matter in international policy," reminding that the US had apologized to China when it bombarded its embassy in Yugoslavia several months ago.

He reiterated that the position of the AL provides for "lifting the UN sanctions from Iraq very soon in order to rescue the Iraqi people."

Abdul Meguid, who was speaking at the inauguration of the 9th Arab Games on Sunday, said the consequences of the Gulf War still negatively effect inter-Arab relations. He added, "Frankness is needed in this phase in order to purify the Arab atmospheres and revive Arab solidarity."

As a result of Iraq's participation in the Arab Games, Kuwait refused to sent a team to compete there, but it took in an official delegation to the games' inauguration ceremony.