US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT3755

S E C R E T KUWAIT 003755 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR NEA/ARPI; USUN FOR LAPENN; LONDON FOR TSOU; PARIS FOR 
ZEYA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/20/2015 
TAGS: PBTS, PREL, PGOV, MARR, IZ, KU, UN 
SUBJECT: GOK OFFICIALS SAY IRAQ BORDER DISPUTE RESOLVED; 
SEPTEMBER VISIT OF UN TEAM WILL RECONFIRM BORDER DEMARCATION 
 
REF: A. CORDON/BROWN EMAIL DATED 8/20/05 
     B. KUWAIT 3652 
     C. KUWAIT 3565 
     D. KUWAIT 3523 
     E. KUWAIT 3396 
     F. KUWAIT 3331 (NOTAL) 
     G. KUWAIT 3287 (NOTAL) 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1.  (C)  During an August 20 meeting on security and 
counterterrorism (septel), the Ambassador asked First Deputy 
Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Shaykh Nawaf Al-Sabah 
for his latest assessment of the border dispute with Iraq 
(reftels).  Shaykh Nawaf said the situation was under 
control, although some Iraqi farms remained in Kuwaiti 
territory.  He said that only 6 KM of the 217 KM-long 
pipeline still needed to be completed, which would enhance 
border security.  He told the Ambassador he had spoken to his 
Iraqi counterpart, and the GOK and the Iraqi Transitional 
Government (ITG) were in complete agreement that the border 
had been demarcated by the UN and that pipeline installation 
was taking place entirely within Kuwaiti territory.  He said 
the real problem was not the pipeline, rather a small group 
of people who wanted to create problems between the GOK and 
the ITG.  He accused these individuals of misrepresenting, 
for their personal benefit, the security barrier as an oil 
pipeline or commercial enterprise.  He praised the Iraqi 
delegation that visited Kuwait for border talks (ref D), 
welcomed statements made by PM Ibrahim Al-Jaafari on the 
issue, and said a September visit by a UN team for border 
pillar maintenance would definitively resolve the matter, 
"inshallah."  He also expressed hope that funds deposited 
with the UN to compensate Iraqi farmers would be disbursed 
soon. 
 
2.  (C)  In a separate meeting, Ambassador Abdullah Al-Murad, 
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Acting Under Secretary and 
International Organizations Department Director, echoed 
Shaykh Nawaf's statements.  He said the media and both Iraqi 
and Kuwaiti parliamentarians had exploited the situation.  He 
stressed that the GOK and ITG agreed "there is no border 
problem."  He added that the September visit of the UN team 
would lend credibility to the existing border demarcation and 
also help to keep the minor dispute a "technical matter." 
 
3.  (S)  Comment:  To facilitate pillar maintenance, CENTCOM 
is processing satellite imagery of the border area (ref A). 
This request came from the UN and Deputy Secretary of Defense 
England agreed to provide such assistance during a May 20 
meeting with Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Shaykh Dr. Mohammed 
Al-Sabah.  The images should be ready and available well 
before the arrival of the UN team.  End Comment. 
 
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LEBARON