Kuwait rebuffs Iraqi call for unity

KUWAIT (Reuter) - Kuwaitis reacted with derision yesterday to a call by a half brother of the Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, for unity of the two countries less than two years after Baghdad's invasion forces were expelled from Kuwait.

'It is a ridiculous call . . . absurd,' said a senior Kuwaiti official, who asked not to be named.

Barzan al-Takriti, President Saddam's half brother, wrote in the government newspaper al-Jumhuriyah yesterday that 'it is better for those concerned on both sides to guide themselves to a useful path . . . leading to the unity of the two countries'.

'The two parties (Iraq and Kuwait) must respect each other . . . and I am confident that each of the two countries possesses the potential that will bring them closer together.'