HILLAH, Iraq -- Iraqi authorities have recovered an extremely valuable painting by Pablo Picasso that was stolen from the Kuwaiti National Museum during Iraq's military invasion in 1990, Radio Free Iraq (RFI) reports.
A member of a group sent to Hillah, Iraq, by the Prime Minister's Office presented the painting to the public on August 25.
He told RFI that a person who attempted to sell the painting for $450,000 was arrested north of Hillah recently.
The arrested person later told police that his relative served in Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion in 1990 and gave him the painting to keep.
The painting bears a stamp of the Kuwaiti National Museum and its authenticity was confirmed by an expert from the Iraqi Culture Ministry.
The painting is valued at several million dollars.
The Iraqi government plans to return the painting and other valuable objects to Kuwait in an attempt to resolve the outstanding stolen property and compensation issues between the two countries.
Baghdad hopes that may help lift the sanctions imposed by the United Nations after Iraq's occupation of Kuwait in 1990.
A member of a group sent to Hillah, Iraq, by the Prime Minister's Office presented the painting to the public on August 25.
He told RFI that a person who attempted to sell the painting for $450,000 was arrested north of Hillah recently.
The arrested person later told police that his relative served in Kuwait during the Iraqi invasion in 1990 and gave him the painting to keep.
The painting bears a stamp of the Kuwaiti National Museum and its authenticity was confirmed by an expert from the Iraqi Culture Ministry.
The painting is valued at several million dollars.
The Iraqi government plans to return the painting and other valuable objects to Kuwait in an attempt to resolve the outstanding stolen property and compensation issues between the two countries.
Baghdad hopes that may help lift the sanctions imposed by the United Nations after Iraq's occupation of Kuwait in 1990.
