Iraq calls for end to UN Gulf War compensation

Iraqi deputy foreign minister Mohammed Hamud Bidan spoke to Reuters before addressing the governing council of the UN Compensation Commission, which uses five percent of Iraqi oil revenues for payouts.

"We suggest we stop the payments of five percent from oil revenues...it is too much for us. We think it is time now to stop and leave Iraq to negotiate directly with the states concerned," Bidan said.

It is the last council session scheduled to approve further payouts, although those already authorised will take decades to complete. The commission has paid out $19.2 billion out of $52.1 billion of claims approved so far.

But some mega-claims are still on the table, with demands for $50 billion in compensation for damage done to the environment being sought by Iraq's neighbours, including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Iran, at this week's three-day session.

The Iraqi delegation held 30-minute private talks with a Kuwaiti delegation led by Khaled Ahmad Al-Mudhaf, chairman of Kuwait's Public Authority for Assessment of Compensation for Damages Resulting from Iraqi Aggression.

"Their reaction now was positive but we need to speak about details case-by-case. Maybe they will accept to speak about government compensation but not individuals," Hamud Bidan said.

Kuwaiti officials in Geneva had no immediate comment. "They just floated the idea," one Kuwaiti official said.