The UN Security Council is virtually paralysed in the face of the UK-Iran row over the detention of 15 British sailors as the confrontation enters the second week.
UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council is virtually paralysed in the face of the UK-Iran row over the detention of 15 British sailors as the confrontation between the two countries enters the second week.
Though the Council had on Thursday issued a bland three sentence statement, it took the 15 members all day to agree on the language of the press statement which, in diplomatic parlance, is the lowest form of reaction and is non binding.
Western diplomats were very angry that some members even objected to the statement calling for 'immediate release' and that they did not accept the British contention that its Navy personnel were in Iraqi waters. The statement, therefore, did not even mention whether the Council thought the incident happened in Iranian or Iraqi waters.
With attempts to get the Council issue a strong statement having failed, diplomats say it is unlikely that Britain would make another attempt to bring the matter to the Council unless some major incident takes place. Britain assumes the rotating presidency of the Council for April on Monday but it only gives it advantage of scheduling meetings and debates.
Commentators and analysts in the United States say that the incident has come at a very wrong time for British Prime Minister Tony Blair who plans to step down in next few months.
But they also say that the delay in release of Britons might itself be indication of differences between various groups over handling of the incident. It is, they say, also shows Britain can do little to get them released and might have allowed the incident to play out.
The video of the captured sailors might disgust people in the West but the Iranian and people in the Middle East might evoke different feelings, they say.
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