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The President: I thank the representative of Kuwait for his kind words addressed to me. I now call on the next speaker, the representative of Iraq.
Mr. Kadrat (Iraq) (interpretation from Arabic): I should first like to congratulate you, sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council. I wish also to express our thanks and congratulations to the Permanent Representative of Malaysia, who presided over the Council's work last month.
The position of my country's Government with respect to the item before the Council is the following.
First, the events taking place in Kuwait are internal matters which have no relation to Iraq.
Secondly, the Free Provisional Government of Kuwait requested my Government to assist it to establish security and order so that the Kuwaitis would not have to suffer. My Government decided to provide such assistance solely on that basis.
Thirdly, the Iraqi Government energetically states that Iraq is pursuing no goal or objective in Kuwait and desires cordial and good-neighbourly relations with Kuwait.
Fourthly, it is the Kuwaitis themselves who in the final analysis will determine their future. The Iraqi forces will withdraw as soon as order has been restored. This was the request made by the Free Provisional Government of Kuwait. We hope that it will take no more than a few days, or at the most a few weeks.
Fifthly, there are reports that the previous Kuwaiti Government has been overthrown and that there is now a new Government. Hence, the person in the seat of Kuwait here represents no one, and his statement lacks credence.
