Omar Hasan, Agence France Presse  --  Arab News

KUWAIT CITY, 30 June 2004 — One day after the handover of authority to Iraqis, Kuwait moved swiftly yesterday to announce the resumption of diplomatic relations with its northern Arab neighbor, severed since Saddam Hussein’s forces invaded the emirate in 1990.

Following the transfer of sovereignty to an Iraqi government, “the state of Kuwait announces the re-establishment of diplomatic relations with its Arab republic sister,” a Kuwaiti foreign affairs spokesman told the official KUNA news agency.

Kuwait will send an ambassador to Baghdad at a later date, the spokesman said, stressing that the move showed Kuwait’s desire “to cooperate and coordinate (with Iraq) in the interests of the two fraternal countries and their peoples, and to consolidate the foundations of security and stability in the region”.

In hailing Monday’s power handover and voicing hope for a return of stability, the emirate’s prime minister had a day earlier stressed that the embassy would only reopen when the security situation permits.

“We are pleased with the transfer of power to the Iraqi people,” Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah said.

“And we hope the people will appreciate the importance of the responsibility, now the authority is national and not foreign.”

“Kuwait is ready to give Iraq any sort of help to recover its stability,” Sheikh Sabah said, but stressed his country would not send any troops to Iraq as part of a multinational force.

Kuwait, which served as the main launchpad for the US-led invasion of Iraq last year that ousted Saddam’s regime, has established good relations with the Iraqi interim authority which succeeded his regime.

Dozens of Iraqi officials and politicians have visited the emirate in the past 14 months, signaling the turning of a new page in the two countries’ relations which were marred by serious escalations over the past 50 years.

Iraqi governments in power since 1950 have all laid claim to Kuwait as being an “integral part of Iraq” and have on occasion threatened to occupy their oil-rich neighbor, as Saddam did.

Although Kuwaitis are pleased with the toppling of Saddam and his Baathist regime, they still seek reassurance from the Iraqi people and the new government that Saddam’s invasion will not be repeated.

Sheikh Sabah said Kuwait needs no guarantees from Iraq to respect its borders because the issue was settled by a 1993 UN Security Council resolution.

The head of parliament’s foreign relations committee, MP Mohammad Al-Saqer, said the emirate was looking for “convictions” from both Iraqis and their government that Kuwait is an independent, sovereign nation.

“We do not want guarantees from Iraqis. We want convictions that Kuwait is a brotherly sovereign country... We like and respect Iraq and we want them to do the same,” he said.

In making its announcement to re-establish diplomatic ties, Kuwait took the lead from Washington, which Monday resumed its diplomatic relations after they were cut in February 1991 at the time of the first Gulf War.

That war, fought by a US-led multinational coalition, liberated Kuwait from Saddam’s grasp after seven months of occupation.

On Monday, two days earlier than scheduled, Washington handed over power in Iraq to an appointed local administration amid a climate of violence that had increased ahead of the planned June 30 transfer date.