Riyadh, Aug. 3, 2023: Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have reiterated their joint claim to the natural resources in their maritime neutral zone, including the Al-Durra gas field, local media reported on Thursday.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said the two countries have full sovereign rights to utilise the area’s resources, said the report.
Saudi Arabia, siding with Kuwait, called on Iran to return to negotiations concerning the eastern border of the neutral zone, based on international law and the principles of good neighbourliness, it added.
The two countries and Iran have a long-lasting dispute over the ownership of the offshore Al-Durra gas field, which Iran refers to as Arash and insists on a stake in it.
Saudi Arabia and Kuwait signed an agreement on jointly developing the gas field in March last year.
Iran denounced the agreement as “illegal,” saying it ran contrary to what had been previously negotiated.
The contention over this joint gas field stretches back to the 1960s.
Iran and Kuwait have held talks for many years over their disputed maritime border area, which is rich in natural gas, but failed to map border demarcation and end disputes in the recent attempt in March.
