LOC00:18
21:18 GMT
BAGHDAD -- "I feel optimism because Iraq and Kuwait are still committed to
the normalization of relations and to solving all outstanding issues," Ban
said in a report distributed by the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI). The
report was issued in compliance with UN resolution 2001 of 2011.
Ban welcomed Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki's recent visit to Kuwait,
during which both sides discussed how Iraq should honor its remaining
obligations towards Kuwait, like maintenance of border signs, returning of
national archives and identifying whereabouts of Kuwaiti missings.
The meeting of the Kuwait-Iraq committee this month, said Ban, was "an
important opportunity" to addressing all sticky issues and to ensure
appropriate implementation of the agreements.
"Iraq's decisive steps to honor all remaining obligations in line with
relevant UN Security Council resolutions are necessary to guarantee the return
of Iraq" to the international fold, said Ban.
Ban's representative in Baghdad Martin Kobler is ready to help Iraq and
Kuwait reach compromising solutions for their thorny matters, he added.
Despite Al-Maliki's positive visit to Kuwait, Ban asserted, Iraq "still
needs to implement, as soon as possible, what has long been waiting to be
implemented towards Kuwait in line with Chapter VII, and these obligations
include UNSC resolutions related to the maintenance of the Iraq-Kuwait border
signs." (end)
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