UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- A U.N. compensation commission announced it disbursed more than $1 billion to settle damage claims from losses incurred by Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.
Iraqi relations with Kuwait had soured over reparations Baghdad owes its southern neighbor from U.N. Security Council resolutions stemming from the 1990 invasion by Saddam Hussein. Both countries experienced diplomatic difficulties on work related to missing persons and property related to the invasion that led to the first gulf war.
The U.N. Compensation Commission said it doled out more than $1 billion to eight claimants to settle damage claims the Kuwaiti invasion.
The compensation is funded in part by export sales of Iraqi petroleum and petroleum products. Baghdad anticipates major international interest at its next round of auctions for exploration rights next year.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the past had welcomed efforts on the part of both countries to work in repairing their damaged relations.
