The Hindu : Kuwait hopeful of early solution to Gulf crisis

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 30, 2003

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Kuwait hopeful of early solution to Gulf crisis

By Our Staff Reporter

VISAKHAPATNAM JAN. 29. Kuwait is hopeful that the West Asian crisis over Iraq's non-compliance with the United Nations Security Council resolution would be resolved soon.

Disclosing his country's optimism of early easing of the tension, the Ambassador of Kuwait, Abdullah Al-Murad, told Andhra University faculty and students here today that with the U.S. President, George Bush, having given his reaction to the International weapons inspection team's report, the next development depended on the Security Council's response.

Reiterating Kuwait's stand that it was not for a war against Iraq and that it looked to a peaceful solution, Mr. Abdullah, however, said that his country was obliged to accept any fresh Security Council resolution in the light of the weapons inspection team's report "as it was through its resolution that we were liberated''.

He foresaw four possible scenarios emerging out of the negative report submitted by the inspection team. Either Saddam Hussein would comply with the Security Council resolution leading to the elimination of mass destruction weapons in Iraq, face a coup d'etat, be taken out of Iraq as some countries desired or be toppled by a war. "It is difficult to say which of these would happen. But the last one (involving a war) is the most dangerous scenario."

What Mr. Abdullah, however, could predict with a degree of certainty was that the crisis would end "within a short period''. He said: "We are not for a war. We hope that Iraq would abide by the Security Council resolution, become a peaceful country and respect international laws and its neighbours. Most countries, including India, are against war but this does not mean they support Saddam Hussein.''

Pointing out that Kuwait was the first country to be liberated by a Security Council resolution, Mr. Abdullah reacted sharply to the criticism that his country, instead of entering into peace pacts with its neighbours, had bungled the situation by inviting foreign armies on its soil. ``Since our independence, we did not have a single foreign soldier on our soil or any military agreement with any country. Even during the Iraq-Iran war, we had refused military cooperation with the U.S.,'' he pointed out.

On bilateral ties with India, Mr. Abdullah said relations between the two countries dated back to the pre-Islamic era and there was need for greater cooperation between them. On the question of discounted pricing for oil purchased by India, the Ambassador said that though he had offered to put up this matter before the OPEC, he was not hopeful of it being accepted. This would open the door for other developing countries seeking similar concessions.

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