25 JUL 12 Iraqi government allocates $500m to end disputes with Kuwait

ERBIL, July 25 (AKnews) – The Iraqi council of ministers has approved a $500 million from the general budget to be allocated for resolving disputes with its neighbor Kuwait.



Iraqi government spokesperson Ali al-Dabbagh has said the council of Ministers has requested from the parliament to approve $500 million, $300 million form the 2012 budget and another $200 million from the 2013 budget, to be paid to Kuwait in order to end decades of disputes between the two countries.



Iraq is under sanction from the United Nations and owes about $2 billion to Kuwait for the 1990 invasion of the neighboring country under former dictator Saddam Hussein.



The State-run Kuwait Airways Corp. has been seeking $1.2 billion in compensation for 10 passenger planes taken during the 1990 invasion.



Iraq also announced earlier this year that the Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had come to terms with Kuwaiti officials in a visit to the country to pay $300 million in compensation and pay another $200 million to establish a joint airline with Kuwait.