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We had been following with great interest the negotiations held earlier between Kuwait and Iraq and we had hoped that any differences would have been settled through peaceful brotherly negotiations.
This is indeed a very grave situation, and urgent and forthright action by the Security Council is required. We should like to call upon Iraq to withdraw its forces immediately and unconditionally from Kuwaiti territory and respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Kuwait. We appeal to both sides to begin immediately intensive negotiations to resolve their differences, and we should like to support the efforts of all concerned, especially those of the Arab League, in bringing about a peaceful settlement between the two countries.
Under the circumstances, Malaysia has agreed to co-sponsor the draft resolution before the Council.
The President: I thank the representative of Malaysia for the kind words he addressed to me.
Sir Crispin Tickell (United Kingdom): Mr. President, our best wishes to you and our warmest thanks to your predecessor in office.
This is an ugly moment in world affairs. We strongly condemn a clear breach of the Charter of the United Nations, as indeed of the Charter of the Arab League. The Security Council must today take its responsibilities.
In the last few hours the Iraqi Government has launched a full-scale invasion of the territory of its small and vulnerable neighbour. I should add that this is not the first time that Iraq has invaded the territory of a neighbour. We have so far seen formulas which recall in dismaying fashion the kind of totalitarian remarks made in history on many occasions. Thus we have a invasion from outside; we have a phoney coup d'état from within; and we have the purported establishment of a puppet government. Like my United States colleague, I have noted that the plot was botched because the timing was back to front.
