Kuwaiti State Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed al-Sabah accused Baghdad Tuesday of being indifferent to the suffering of the Iraqi people and denounced the regime for its continued threats against Kuwait, said AFP.
"The Arab summit confirmed beyond any shadow of doubt that the Iraqi regime is not interested in lifting sanctions against the Iraqi people, nor of stopping their suffering," he said, after holding talks in Paris with his French counterpart Hubert Vedrine.
During a two-day Arab summit in Amman at the end of March, the first ordinary meeting of Arab leaders since the 1991 Gulf War, Iraq rejected a resolution aimed at a reconciliation with Kuwait.
Nor did the summit satisfy Baghdad's demand for a unilateral lifting of sanctions by Arab countries, who simply issued a resolution calling for their abolishment.
The minister slammed Iraq for failing to "take concrete steps concerning the safety of Kuwait" during the summit and rejecting proposals in that direction made by Arab leaders.
After his meeting with Vedrine, the minister said France and Kuwait "shared the view that security and stability in the Gulf region needs to be strengthened."
France and Kuwait have signed common defense accords and Paris is the main supplier of naval military equipment to Kuwait.
The minister declined to comment on Russia's proposal for a comprehensive solution to the Iraqi problem, in line with the interests of all Middle Eastern states.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov met Sheikh Saoud Nasser al-Sabah, special representative of the Emir of Kuwait in Moscow on Monday.
The Russian foreign minister said that Moscow foresaw the resumption of United Nation cooperation with Iraq on questions of disarmament and the establishment of international control over Iraqi military programs, said Moscow Times newspaper.
This would be in exchange for the suspension, and eventual scrapping, of international sanctions against Iraq, said the paper.
The Kuwait state minister for foreign affairs is expected in London later Tuesday, before going to Washington.
Other Kuwaiti officials began tours Sunday of the United States, Europe and China to press their case over Iraq – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
