In August 1990 Saddam Hussein ordered his troops into Kuwait, claiming the small Gulf emirate as Iraq's 19th province.

The occupation of Kuwait lasted only seven months but, almost 20 years on, the Iraqi people are still paying the price.

Iraq remains obligated to pay war reparations to Kuwait under the terms of Chapter 7 of the UN charter.

Baghdad must set aside 5 per cent of its oil revenues for these payments.

Iraq has paid Kuwait over $13 billion in war damages, yet there is still a long way to go before the debt is settled.

Iraqi MPs have called for the remaining debt of around $25 billion to be waived, arguing that the country needs the money to pay for its own post-war reconstruction.
The Kuwaitis have rejected this, insisting that the payments continue until issues including border demarcation and compensation for Kuwaiti property lost or damaged during the 1990 invasion are resolved.

However, in July, Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, proposed a new solution that would mean Kuwait could invest Iraq's remaining debt into Iraq itself.

To discuss this Jasim Azawi is joined by Saad Naji Jawad, a professor of political science at Baghdad University, and Abdullah Alshayji, a professor of international relations and the chairman of the American studies unit at Kuwait University.