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Britain runs into UN headwinds over Iran's capture of crew
AFP
UNITED NATIONS
Petroleumworld.com 03 30 07
The UN Security Council on Thursday adopted a watered-down statement expressing "grave concern" at the detention of 15 British crew members by Iran but stopped well short of a Britain's call to criticize Tehran.
The 15-member council capped a day of hectic consultations by turning back Britain's request for a call for the immediate liberation of its sailors and marines because of strong opposition from Russia.
South African Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, the current council chair, read a non-binding statement expressing "grave concern at the capture and continued detention" of the Britons, while calling on Tehran to allow "consular access" to them.
Britain had sought a tougher stance against the Iranians, who seized the British sailors and marines last Friday in two boats during what London claims were operations in Iraqi waters.
But a Western diplomat quoted Russian ambassador Vitaly Churkin as telling the council during the closed-door consultations that Moscow would not back Britain's call for UN support.
"We will not be able to accept a call for the immediate release of the 15 UK naval personnel," Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said during the closed-door consultations, according to the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The original British draft circulated Wednesday would have the Security Council "deplore the continuing detention by the Government of Iran of 15 UK naval personnel" and back "calls for (their) immediate release".
It would note that "the UK personnel were operating in Iraqi waters as part of the Multinational Force-Iraq under a mandate from the Security Council under Resolution 1723 (2006) and at the request of the government of Iraq."
But the final statement adopted avoided the issue of whether the incident took place in Iranian or Iraqi waters.
Earlier, Britain's UN envoy Emyr Jones Parry told reporters that Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates of two British boats were changed by Iran to make it appear they were in Iranian waters.
"It was only when we point out that the detention (of the 15 British sailors and marines) was inappropriate and in our view unlawful that the coordinates were then changed by the Iranian government to be coordinates within Iranian waters," Jones Parry said.
"Our position has been consistent for six days. We want these guys all released immediately. We think the detention was inappropriate and I hope I can get the Security Council to rally to that simple proposition," the British envoy said.
The 15 Britons were captured on Friday in the northern Gulf in what Iran insists were its territorial waters.
But Britain says they were picked up while on a routine patrol in Iraqi waters.
Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Thursday that London must recognize a violation of Iranian territorial waters if it wanted to help resolve the crisis.
"They (British leaders) must accept that this violation took place, that would help to resolve the affair," Mottaki told Iranian state television.
Iran also withdrew an offer to free the only female British detainee.
Tehran released a second letter apparently written by the captured woman, 26-year-old Faye Turney, in which she suggested it was time for Britain to withdraw its troops from Iraq.
Meanwhile, world oil prices soared to six-month highs on the spike in tension.
The head of Iran's supreme national security council, Ali Larijani, earlier said Turney would not be released because of Britain's "incorrect" attitude.
Iran did say it would consider a Turkish request to free Turney and to allow the Turkish ambassador to visit the eight detained British sailors and seven marines.
London announced on Wednesday that it was freezing official contacts with Tehran because of the detentions.
AFP 29 2159 GMT 03 07
Copyright© 2007 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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