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UK sees promise in Iran contacts |
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Written by Staff Writer
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Apr 04, 2007 at 03:20 AM |
Tony Blair believes Iran wants to achieve an "early resolution" to the crisis over the Royal Navy crew through direct talks, Downing Street has said.
A statement was issued late on Tuesday after further UK contact with Iran, including directly with its chief negotiator Ali Larijani.
The UK had proposed direct bilateral talks and awaited a response, it said.
However, both countries continue to dispute whether the 15 crew were in Iran's waters when seized on 23 March.
"The prime minister remains committed to resolving this by diplomatic means," Downing Street's statement stressed.
It came hours after Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett had urged caution over hopes that the sailors and marines held by Iran may soon be freed.
She said people had read a lot into remarks by the prime minister earlier in the day about talks with Iran entering a "critical" 48 hours.
BBC diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall said No 10's statement appeared to be an encouraging sign.And the fact it was released late on Tuesday suggested officials were "excited" about progress, she said.In other developments on Tuesday, new photographs were released showing the Royal Navy crew.The crew, from Plymouth-based HMS Cornwall, can be seen wearing tracksuits, smiling and playing chess.Leading Seaman Faye Turney, 26, is not wearing a headscarf as she had in previous TV footage.
The naval personnel have been held captive since being seized by Iranian Revolutionary Guards in the northern Gulf last month.Iran says they strayed into its territorial waters, but the UK maintains they were in Iraqi waters after returning from searching a merchant vessel.
In comments before No 10's statement, Mr Blair said the UK had two aims - firstly to make Iran understand that "the pressure is there" and secondly to ensure the "door is open" to diplomacy.
He added if "peaceful, calm negotiation" was not possible, the UK would have to take "increasingly tougher decisions".
The prime minister spoke after Mr Larijani hinted to Iranian state radio that a new phase in the talks with the UK had begun. "If they continue this path they can change the situation logically... in such a way that the issue is resolved," he said.
But Iranian Vice President Parviz Davoudi insisted the UK still had to admit its personnel had crossed into Iran's waters."Certainly if Britain accepts that they have illegally trespassed into Iran, and guarantee that they won't repeat it, the issue will obviously become negotiable and can be resolved through a rational process," he said.
Hossein Shariatmadari, editor of Iranian newspaper Keyhan, said talk of a critical 48 hours by Mr Blair was "laughable"."They have been giving us deadlines since the revolution and they have never been able to achieve any," he said.
Foreign Office Minister Lord Triesman has had talks with the Iranian ambassador in London eight times since the crew's capture. It is understood that one area under discussion between the two countries is how future disputes over the contested Shatt al-Arab waterway may be avoided.
US President George Bush has described the crew's capture as "indefensible" and said he backed the UK's efforts to resolve the crisis peacefully.There have been suggestions that the crew's case could be improved by the release of five Iranian officials held by the US since January.The BBC's Jim Muir, in Baghdad, said senior Iraq officials were negotiating with the US embassy and the US military over the issue. |
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