KUWAIT CITY, Aug. 6 (Xinhuanet) -- An Iraqi envoy said here Saturday the security barrier built by Kuwait along its border with Iraq is inside Kuwait's territories, and that Kuwait has the right to safeguard its borders, the Kuwait News Agency reported.

    During a tour at the Kuwaiti-Iraqi borders, Sheikh Khaled al- Attiyah, representative of Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari, said there were "overlapping" areas in the borders between the two countries but "their spaces are limited and simple".

    Al-Attiyah praised the Kuwaiti government for ceasing the construction of the security barrier until the problem was solved by "correct humanitarian efforts and political methods."

    He said one Iraqi water well had fallen a few metres within kuwaiti land, adding the Iraqi government was fully backed by the Kuwaiti government through compensating Iraqis affected by the barrier.

    Al-Attiyah said, "There is absolutely no border problem between both countries."

    He said he was assured by Kuwaiti officials that the security barrier was constructed "in a scientific and accurate way," affirming "it is only a metal barrier, it has no economic objective."

    Al-Attiyah said the Iraqi government also sought to safeguard its borders. "The Iraqi security and military forces are growing and will be fully capable to control the borders in future," he added.

    Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad earlier Saturday stressed that the common borders were well-defined "according to international resolutions and there is no dispute over this issue."

    Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs Hoshyar Zebari also sent a letter on Friday to the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in which the official expressed appreciation of Kuwait's reaction to the issue of Kuwait-Iraq border overlap and stressed that Iraq would abide by all international resolutions concerning the tow countries.

    Hundreds of Iraqis last week gathered at the border area of UmmQasr to protest a metal barrier Kuwait was building.

    Kuwait started building the metal barrier several months ago toreplace a sand barrier that was constructed to keep Iraqis from illegally entering the Gulf Arab state. Enditem