Iraq/Kuwait: UPDATE 2-Iraq Wins One-Year Reprieve on Gulf War Reparations Due to Crisis

Dec 18, 2014 | Stephanie Nebehay, Reuters
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A United Nations body agreed on Thursday to let Iraq postpone its final payment of reparations to Kuwait for the 1990-91 Gulf War, in an effort to help ease Baghdad's cash-strapped budget.

The consensus decision, reached by major powers at the U.N. Compensation Commission (UNCC), means Iraq will have until Jan. 2016 to begin paying its oil-rich neighbour $4.6 billion for oil fields destroyed during its invasion and seven-month occupation.

Iraq's economy is being battered by low oil prices and war with Islamic State militants who control the north and west, leading the government of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to request the delay.