US embassy cable - 05KUWAIT3851

C O N F I D E N T I A L KUWAIT 003851 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARPI, LONDON FOR TSOU, PARIS FOR ZEYA, USUN 
FOR LAPENN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/27/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PBTS, MARR, IZ, KU, UN, KUWAIT-IRAQ RELATIONS 
SUBJECT: KUWAIT TO RECOMMEND JOINT KUWAIT-IRAQ BORDER 
COMMITTEE; WILLING TO PAY COSTS OF UN MAINTENANCE TEAM 
 
REF: A. KUWAIT 3755 (AND PREVIOUS) 
     B. KUWAIT 3565 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1.  (C) In an August 27 meeting with the Ambassador, Foreign 
Minister Shaykh Dr. Mohammed Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah said 
Kuwait would request establishment of a joint Kuwait-Iraq 
committee to work with the United Nations team on maintenance 
of the countries' shared border, which was officially 
demarcated by UNSCR 833.  (Note: The UN team is scheduled to 
arrive in September (ref A).  End note.)  The FM told the 
Ambassador he would speak with his Iraqi counterpart and 
encourage him to send a formal letter to the UN accepting the 
formation of the committee.  He did not specify when Kuwait 
intended to make the request, though we believe it is likely 
to occur during the upcoming UNGA. 
 
2.  (C) The Ambassador asked the FM how Kuwait would respond 
if, as Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari reportedly said, 
Iraq was unable to pay its part of the UN border pillar 
maintenance team's costs.  Shaykh Dr. Mohammed replied that 
"the money issue would not delay the work of the UN team," a 
statement we interpreted as an implicit acknowledgment that 
Kuwait would be willing to pay Iraq's share of the costs. 
(Note: Iraqi "buy-in" would be through participation in the 
committee.  End note.) 
 
3.  (C) Shown a commercial satellite map of the border near 
Umm Qasr by the Ambassador as an example of the type of 
satellite imagery the U.S. would provide the UN as requested 
(ref B), the FM mentioned that although some Iraqi farms 
infringed on Kuwaiti territory, they did not extend more than 
10 to 15 meters across the border. 
 
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LEBARON