KUWAIT TO RECOMMEND JOINT KUWAIT-IRAQ BORDER

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. ********************************************* Visit Embassy Kuwait's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/kuwait/ You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website ********************************************* LEBARON