Recovering some of its battered unity over Iraqi sanctions, the Security Council agreed to reduce the percentage of Iraq's oil revenues paid into the gulf war compensation fund.

As part of a compromise, the Security Council on Wednesday also endorsed a record $15.9 billion claim for damages against Iraq by the Kuwait Petroleum Company (KPC).
But the council - in particular its five permanent members - remained divided over the legality of unauthorised flights to Iraq, which has been subject to comprehensive sanctions since it invaded Kuwait in August 1990.
The French ambassador to the United Nations, Jean-David Levitte, told reporters that France had suggested a compromise over compensation payments because it is important to restore the unity of the council.

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France, China and Russia waived reservations about the claim by KPC, the largest so far brought to the UN Compensation Commission (UNCC) in Geneva.

Bureau Report