Cablegate: Iraq/Kuwait Meeting in Jeddah

O 011143Z AUG 90
FM AMEMBASSY RIYADH
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2718
INFO GULF WAR COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RIYADH 06017

E.O. 12356: N/A
TAGS: PREL IZ KU SA
SUBJECT: IRAQ/KUWAIT MEETING IN JEDDAH

1. SUMMARY. LOCAL PRESS REPORT THE BEGINNING OF TALKS
BETWEEN IRAQ AND KUWAIT IN JEDDAH ON JULY 31. AS
ANTICIPATED, CROWN PRINCE ABDALLAH RECEIVED IRAQI VICE
CHAIRMAN IBRAHIM AND THE KUWAITI CROWN PRINCE. KING FAHD
RECEIVED THE TWO DELEGATION HEADS AND GAVE A DINNER IN
HONOR OF THE TWO DELEGATIONS. CROWN PRINCE ABDALLAH
ATTENDED THE OPENING SESSION OF THE TALKS; THIS WAS
FOLLOWED BY A CLOSED SESSION OF THE TWO DELGATION HEADS
ALONE. AFTER ABOUT TWO HOURS OTHER MEMBERS OF THE TWO
DELEGATIONS JOINED. NO OFFICIAL STATEMENTS WERE MADE
AFTER THE MEETINGS AND THE TALKS EVIDENTLY ARE CONTINUING
ON AUGUST 1. THE FOLLOWING IS A COMPOSITE SUMMARY OF
THIS MORNING'S (AUGUST 1) LOCAL PRESS REPORTING. END
SUMMARY.

2. BILATERAL TALKS BETWEEN IRAQ AND KUWAIT STARTED AT
THE JEDDAH CONFERENCE PALACE JULY 31, 1990. VICE
CHAIRMAN OF THE IRAQI REVOLUTIONARY COMMAND COUNCIL IZZAT
IBRAHIM LED THE IRAQI DELEGATION TO THE TALKS WHILE
KUWAITI CROWN PRINCE AND PRIME MINISTER SAAD AL-ABDALLAH
LED HIS COUNTRY'S TEAM. THE IRAQI TEAM COMPRISES MEMBER
OF THE IRAQI RCC DR. SAADOUN HAMMADI (FORMER MINISTER OF
OIL WHO PLAYED DISTINGUISHED ROLES IN FOREIGN POLICY) AND
A NUMBER OF IRAQI TOP OFFICIALS. THE KUWAITI DELEGATION
INCLUDES MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS NASSER
AL-SABAH; MINISTER OF JUSTICE DARI ABDALLAH AL-OTHMAN;
OIL MINISTER DR. RASHID SALEM AL-OMERY AND OTHER
OFFICIALS. (NEITHER KUWAITI FOREIGN MINISTER SABAH
AL-AHMAD AL-JABER NOR HIS IRAQI COUNTERPART TARIQ AZIZ
APPEARED AMONG THE TWO TEAMS.)

3. CROWN PRINCE ABDALLAH RECEIVED AZIZ AND SAAD
AL-ABDALLAH ON THEIR ARRIVAL AT JEDDAH AIRPORT. WHILE
AZIZ DID NOT MAKE ANY STATEMENT ON HIS ARRIVAL SAAD
AL-ABDALLAH MADE A STATEMENT IN WHICH HE SAID HE MUST
REGISTER HIS THANKS TO THE ARAB LEADERS FOR THEIR SINCERE
EFFORTS FOR CONTAINMENT OF THE TRANSIENT DISPUTE BETWEEN
IRAQ AND KUWAIT. HE THANKED IN PARTICULAR KING FAHD AND
MUBARAK WHO HAD PAVED THE WAY FOR THE JEDDAH MEETING. HE
SAID, "I LOOK FORWARD WITH OPEN HEART TO MEETING WITH MY
BROTHER IZZAT IBRAHIM AND I UNDERLINE THE INTEREST OF
KUWAIT IN PARTICIPATING POSITIVELY IN THIS MEETING HOPING
THAT IT WOULD CONSTITUTE A BASIC STEP TOWARD REACHING A
FINAL AND JUST RESOLUTION OF ALL OUTSTANDING PROBLEMS AND
ISSUES BETWEEN THE TWO BROTHERLY COUNTRIES."

4. KING FAHD RECEIVED IZZAT IBRAHIM AND SAAD AL-ABDALLAH
IN THE PRESENCE OF CROWN PRINCE ABDALLAH WHO ATTENDED THE
OPENING SESSION OF THE BILATERAL TALKS. KING FAHD WISHED
THE TWO DELEGATIONS SUCCESS AND BEST WISHES.

5. IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE OPENING SESSION, IZZAT IBRAHIM
AND SHEIKH SAAD AL-ABDALLAH HELD A CLOSED SESSION ALONE.
AFTER APPROXIMATELY TWO HOURS, HAMMADI AND ALI HASSAN
AL-MAJID (MINISTER OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT) JOINED THE IRAQI
SIDE WHILE NASSER AL-SABAH AND DARI ABDALLAH AL-OTHMAN
REPORTEDLY JOINED THE KUWAITI SIDE. NO OFFICIAL
STATEMENTS WERE MADE AFTER YESTERDAY'S ROUND OF TALKS.
THE TALKS EVIDENTLY ARE CONTINUING. ONE SOURCE
REPORTEDLY SAID THAT THEY WILL COMPLETE THEIR WORK TODAY,
HOWEVER.

6. KING FAHD GAVE A DINNER IN HONOR OF THE TWO
DELEGATIONS AT AL-HAMRA GUEST PALACE. CROWN PRINCE
ABDALLAH; PRINCE ABDULRAHMAN BIN ABDULAZIZ; PRINCE
MITTEB; PRINCE BADR; PRINCE FAWWAZ AND PRINCE MAJID (ALL
BROTHERS OF THE KING) ATTENDED THE DINNER.

7. SAUDI PRESS COMMENTS

SAUDI PRESS EDITORIAL COMMENTS ON THE JEDDAH MEETING WERE
HEAVY ON RHETORIC. WRITERS HEAPED PRAISE ON THE
"HISTORIC" ROLE OF KING FAHD FOR PAVING THE WAY FOR THE
MEETING RATHER THAN COMMENTING ON THE DISPUTE ITSELF.
EXCERPTS FROM TODAY'S EDITORIALS:

AL-NADWA
--------

WE ARE QUITE CONFIDENT THAT THE KUWAITI AND IRAQI
BROTHERS, WHO ARE WELL-KNOWN FOR THEIR CONSTRUCTIVE ROLES
IN SEEING THE ISSUES OF THEIR NATION WILL NOT PERMIT THE
CONSPIRATORS TO INTERFERE IN THE DISPUTES BETWEEN THE TWO
COUNTRIES SO AS TO INFLATE SUCH A DISPUTE. WE MUST
UNDERLINE THAT ARAB NATION AS A WHOLE ATTACHES GREAT
HOPES TO THE JEDDAH BROTHERLY MEETING. THE ARAB NATION
IS LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE
IRAQI-KUWAITI DISPUTE.

AL-YAUM
-------

THE JEDDAH MEETING IS A PRACTICAL STEP FOR BYPASSING ALL
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE TWO BROTHERS IRAQ AND KUWAIT.
THIS STEP WILL DEFINITELY LEAD TO THE ACHIEVEMENT OF THE
AMBITIONS OF THE ARAB LEADERS FOR KEEPING THE ARAB NATION
AWAY FROM ANY DIFFERENCES THAT MIGHT IMPEDE THE PROCESS
OF ARAB SOLIDARITY.

AL-JAZEERA
----------

HOSTING BY THE KINGDOM OF THE JEDDAH MEETING, AS SHEIKH
ABDALLAH PUT IT, CONFIRMS THE PERMANENT INTEREST OF THE
KINGDOM IN PLAYING ITS PIONEERING HISTORIC ROLE TO
CONFRONT ALL ISSUES OF THE ARAB AND ISLAMIC NATIONS AND
TO WORK SERIOUSLY FOR UNIFICATION OF THE WORD OF THIS
NATION.

AL-JAZEERA, JASSER AL-JASSER
----------------------------

THE QUICK POSITIVE RESPONSE TO THE EFFORTS OF THE ARAB
LEADERS FOR CONTAINMENT OF THE DISPUTE BETWEEN IRAQ AN
KUWAIT POINTS OUT TWO FACTS: STRENGTH OF THE ARAB TIES
AND CONFIDENCE OF THE ARAB NATION IN THE PRUDENCE OF ITS
LEADERS.

8. AL-RIYADH DAILY QUOTED THE FOLLOWING COMMENTS FROM
THE IRAQI AND KUWAITI NEWSPAPERS:

AL-QABAS (KUWAIT)
-----------------

ALL SINCERE ARABS, IN THE FOREFRONT BEING THE PEOPLE OF
KUWAIT, HOLD GREAT HOPE THAT THE JEDDAH MEETING WOULD BE
THE MOTIVE FOR CONSOLIDATING THE BROTHERLY TIES BETWEEN
IRAQ AND KUWAIT. WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT THE WORLD WILL
COME TO KNOW THAT OUR NATION IS CAPABLE OF WORKING OUT
ITS PROBLEM BY ITSELF.

AL-RAI AL-AAM (KUWAIT)
----------------------

ALL EYES ARE SET ON JEDDAH HOPING FOR SUCCESS OF THE
IRAQ-KUWAIT MEETING. THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS BETWEEN
KUWAIT AND IRAQ WERE TRANSIENT AND WE ARE SURE THAT THE
JEDDAH MEETING WILL BE A SUCCESSFUL ONE.

AL-QADESEYA (IRAQ)
------------------

IRAQ RESPONDED TO THE JEDDAH MEETING IN ORDER TO PRESERVE
THE HIGHER ARAB INTERESTS AND IN APPRECIATION TO THE
EFFORTS OF THE ARAB LEADERS. THE PAPER POINTED OUT THAT
THE MEETING BETWEEN IRAQ AND KUWAIT IS A CHANCE FOR
LIQUIDATING THE DIFFERENCES AND BEEFING UP THE
COOPERATION BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES.

9. BBC ARABIC SERVICE REPORTED JULY 31 THAT IRAQI PRESS
LAUNCHED A VEHEMENT CAMPAIGN AGAINST KUWAIT AND SAID
AMONG OTHER THINGS THAT IRAQ'S INTERESTS ARE ABOVE ARAB
SOLIDARITY.

DUNFORD

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