Abbas apologizes to Kuwaitis for PLO support for Iraq

KUWAIT CITY - Palestinian leader Mahmound Abbas apologized on Sunday for the PLO's support of Saddam Hussein following Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

Asked by reporters about the Palestinians' support for Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, Abbas responded: "Yes, we apologize for what we have done."

Abbas' remarks came during the first trip by a top Palestinian official to Kuwait since the 1990-91 Gulf War soured Kuwaiti-Palestinian ties.

Speaking to journalists in Amman before the visit, Abbas said he would seek financial aid during the visit.

"Of course we will present our special needs in front of them and leave it to their consideration," Abbas said.

Abbas said the legacy of the past was over and that a new page was turning in ties, echoing similar sentiment on Saturday by Kuwait's prime minister, Sheikh Sabah-al-Ahmad al-Sabah.

Asked if Kuwait seeks an apology over the Palestinian stance during Iraq's invasion in 1990, Sheikh Sabah said: "We are not looking for apologies, this issue is over. On the contrary, we welcome the visit."

However, Abbas' visit remained controversial in Kuwait. A group of lawmakers said in a statement Saturday that they "absolutely reject the visit ... before the PLO offers an official apology to the Kuwaiti people for the sin it committed against Kuwait."

It wasn't immediately clear if Abbas' brief remarks at the airport would satisfy the lawmakers.

Late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was widely hated in Kuwait for refusing to condemn Saddam Hussein's 1990 invasion of the Gulf Arab state. Kuwait severed ties with his Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and cut its financial backing. Arafat never visited Kuwait afterward.

After a U.S.-led multinational coalition drove Iraqi troops out in 1991, Kuwait also took revenge by kicking out some 400,000 Palestinians, although a few thousand stayed or have since returned.

Last year Kuwait put off a planned visit by Abbas. Palestinian officials denied reports that this was because he would not apologize for Arafat's support for the 1990 invasion, saying it was because of complications with schedules.

Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei met later on with United Nations Middle East envoy Terje Roed-Larsen in Amman. The meeting focused on the preparations for the upcoming elections in the Palestinian Authority, according to a senior Palestinian official in Jordan.

"The meeting was intended to explore the role the UN intends to play in ensuring that the elections are problem-free," said Atallah Hairi, the Palestinian attache in Jordan.

King Abdullah sees 'small window' for peaceUpcoming elections in the Palestinian territories and a recommitment to the international road map peace plan have opened a window of opportunity for a breakthrough in the Middle East, Jordan's King Abdullah said on Saturday.

"We have a very limited period of time. In a year or two, if we don't guarantee the process, then there may not be a possibility of peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians," he said in a speech to the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco.

"We do have a small window. If we don't do it, I think the Middle East will be doomed, unfortunately, to many more decades of violence."

King Abdullah, a U.S. ally in the Middle East, earlier this week met with U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington to discuss ways to revive peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians.

Jordan has pledged support to the new Palestinian leadership after the death of Yasser Arafat on November 11.

	Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas speaking to the press about his visit to Kuwait in Amman on Sunday. (Reuters)