GOK OFFICIALS SAY IRAQ BORDER DISPUTE RESOLVED;

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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