Kuwaiti views on Iraqi sanctions

Kuwaiti Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Soliman Magied Shahin said Kuwait's participation this week's Arab ministerial meetings headed by Iraq wasn't aimed at spoiling the session but at confronting any Iraqi attempt to play with UN Security Council resolutions.

Moreover, he denied that disputes broke out between himself and the head of the session, Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Said al-Sahaf, confirming the Iraqi commitment to the Arab states' demands regarding the importance of abiding by the Arab League's charter.

Furthermore, concerning the accusations al-Sahaf leveled against the USA and Britain, he said, "We are not lawyers for the two countries." He also depicted the Kuwaiti relations with some countries which supported the Iraqi invasion as good and getting back to normal."

He, moreover, assured that Kuwaiti sympathy are with the Iraqi people in their suffering, saying, "We seek an opportunity to lift the sanctions after the actual implementation of the resolutions, according to what is agreed upon by the UN Security Council."

He denied the existence of any Arab move to lift the sanctions from Iraq and said they informed the AL secretary general of their point of view.