Kuwait should lease its former occupier Iraq two islands in the Gulf, the vice president of the Iraqi National Congress (INC) said Thursday, repeating a request made by Saddam Hussein two decades ago.
"Iraqi-Kuwaiti problems were created by the British who demarcated the borders, depriving Iraq of an important terminal on the Arabian Gulf," Mudhar Shawkat told Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai Al Aam.
"Iraq's interests first of all lead us to demand that we should have such a water terminal on the Arabian Gulf," added Shawkat, who named the terminal as the two Kuwaiti islands of Bubiyan and Warba, located on the northern edge of the Gulf waters bordering Iraq.
The INC is headed by Ahmad Chalabi, a pro-US senior member of the Iraq's interim Governing Council.
The same demand was made in the early 1980s by deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein at the start of the Iraq-Iran war, which ended in 1988.
Kuwait, which backed Iraq during the war, had turned down the request.
Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait in August 1990 as Saddam claimed the oil-rich emirate as part of his country and annexed it, naming it Iraq's 19th province. A US-led multinational coalition evicted Iraqi troops from Kuwait seven months later.
Shawkat, however, said Iraq does not want to force Kuwait into leasing the two islands, calling for a "quiet dialogue with our Kuwaiti brothers to guarantee a better future for all."
He said the two islands are essential for Iraq's economic development, and "striking a compromise deal on this issue will provide a strategic solution for relations between the two countries."
Kuwait has been studying the feasibility of establishing mega projects on Bubiyan, its largest island, which is uninhabited.
The emirate's cabinet on Sunday gave the green light for authorities to prepare a feasibility study on building a huge port on the island to cater for both Kuwait and Iraq.
If approved, the port's construction is expected to start within months.