The United States has said it respects Sri Lanka’s sovereignty in deciding how to handle Iranian sailors rescued after the sinking of a warship off the island’s southern coast.
The statement from the US State Department follows reports that Washington had been privately leaning on Colombo to block the repatriation of the crew members, who were brought ashore after a week of high-seas drama that saw the first U.S. submarine torpedo attack since the Second World War.
Addressing the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi on Saturday, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said that 32 sailors rescued from the sunken frigate IRIS Dena are being cared for under international treaty obligations.
When asked directly if the United States was pressuring the government to detain the men, Herath declined to answer directly, stating instead that Colombo had “taken all the steps according to international laws.”
The diplomatic standoff began on Wednesday when the IRIS Dena was struck by a US torpedo 19 nautical miles off the coast of Galle.
Sri Lankan naval teams recovered 84 bodies and rescued 32 survivors from the wreckage.
Just 24 hours later, a second Iranian warship, the IRIS Bushehr, was granted safe haven in the northeastern port of Trincomalee after reporting engine failure, resulting in the evacuation of 219 more crew members.
In a televised address earlier this week, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake clarified that the government would adhere to the Hague Convention.
Under these international laws, a neutral state is required to hold combatants from a warring state until hostilities have ceased.
While US officials had reportedly expressed concerns that Iran would use the returning sailors for propaganda purposes, the public stance from Washington has shifted toward recognition of Sri Lanka’s legal autonomy.
“The United States of course respects and recognizes Sri Lanka’s sovereignty in the handling of this situation,” a State Department spokesperson told AFP, adding that the final decision rests solely with Colombo.
The regional impact of the conflict has also touched India, where the IRIS Lavan, a third vessel from the same fleet, was permitted to dock in Kochi on Saturday.
Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar defended the move on “humane grounds,” noting that many of those on board were young cadets caught on the “wrong side of events.”
The three Iranian vessels had originally been in the region for a multi-national fleet review hosted by India, which concluded shortly before full-scale hostilities broke out in the Middle East last week.
In Colombo, senior administration officials confirmed they are now in talks with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to manage the survivors, while Iranian diplomats continue to press for the return of the remains of the 84 sailors killed in the initial strike.
Source:Lankaleader.lk