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Iran: UN won't back Britain
30/03/2007 08:38 - (SA)
United Nations - A week after Iran captured 15 British naval personnel in the Gulf, the UN Security Council on Thursday expressed "grave concern" at their detention but declined to back Britain with a call for their immediate release.
After more than four hours of haggling and strong Russian reservations, South African Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, the current council chair, read a non-binding statement voicing "grave concern" and urging Tehran to allow "consular access" to the 15 British sailors and marines.
The council also backed UN chief Ban Ki-moon's call in talks with Iranian foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki in Saudi Arabia on Thursday for "an early resolution of the problem, including the release" of the 15 detainees.
But the statement fell well short of what the British initially sought: censure of the Iranians for seizing the Britons, including a female sailor, last Friday in two boats during what London claims were anti-smuggling operations in Iraqi waters.
A brave face
The initial British draft circulated Wednesday asked the council to "deplore the continuing detention by the Government of Iran of 15 UK naval personnel" and to back "calls for (their) immediate release".
In London, the foreign office put a brave face on the UN developments.
"The statement that was agreed, it's a text which secured unanimous agreement, and its a clear statement of the members of the Security Council representing the international community," a foreign office spokesperson said.
"We now need to move forward to get our 15 people released as soon as possible," she added.
But the council was clearly divided on the issue, with Russia leading opposition to the tough stance toward Tehran pushed by the British.
"We will not be able to accept a call for the immediate release of the 15 UK naval personnel," Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin Churkin said, according to a Western diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Bilateral dispute?
Several diplomats said Russia, backed by some other council members such as Indonesia, was keen to avoid giving the impression that the council was taking sides in what is seen as a bilateral dispute, particularly on the issue of exactly where the 15 Britons were seized.
Meanwhile Britain confirmed that its embassy in Tehran has received a "formal note" from the Iranian government, but declined to provide details about the message.
The United States reiterated its strong backing for its close British ally.
"The British government, I think, has gone out and demonstrated that these people were in international waters," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said told Fox television network.
"I think they need to be released and the international community needs to say to Iran that they need to be released and that is what we're doing. We're trying to do anything that we can with other parties to help the British," she added.
- AFP
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